Why your mind is full of junk

Unsubscribe. Filter. Thrive.

Looking through someone’s email inbox is a window into the deepest workings of their life.

Have a dig, and you will instantly unleash a thousand and one memories; things that momentarily piqued their interest, or perhaps it went deeper, more than just a fling.

Whether they wanted it to go the distance, or were just looking for a little fun, it was enough to commit. They subscribed.

Yet the feelings are long gone, and it now means nothing to them. The moment has been and gone. Hollow inside and going through the motions, the emails roll in, day-by-day, week-by-week.

The inbox of life

Your life is much the same as your inbox.

Every single day new people, thoughts, ideas, feelings, and ambitions come into your life. Some stay, and some fade away into obscurity. You probably don’t notice their departure, mostly.

This process is a part of being alive and we grow accustomed to it.

Just like our email inbox, we develop a sophisticated mental filter that quickly scans, analyzes and picks out what we deem as important; what deserves our attention.

Whether we let them in for a moment, fully immerse ourselves in them, or even subscribe to them depends on the condition of our filter.

Given that our filter will ultimately shape the course of our life, it is mind-blowing how little attention and care we give it.

How many old faces are still present in your life? Those who take more than they give, or simply exist on a different wavelength?

Relationships that have no relevance to your growth, yet they show up, time and time again?

Past ambitions that you’re still holding on to, too unconscious or afraid to give them up?

Much in the same way, your ability to process emails is flawed at best. While you become ultra-efficient at filtering through all the crap in your inbox, all of this takes away valuable energy.

Unless you are conscious of this process, the people, ideas and thoughts lingering in your life do exactly the same thing.

A jam-packed inbox of life is a huge barrier to creating space for our dreams. These pieces of junk are blocking countless opportunities, experiences, ideas and people that will positively shape our path.

Consider yourself a magnet. If faced with opposing power, your strength is drained, while when combined with equal power, you will be augmented.

We must unsubscribe from that which drains.

Unsubscribe to thrive

Saying goodbye is a part of life, yet our instinct tells us not to do it.

We can exist for months or years in a toxic relationship, unable to walk away for fear of the unknown.

The cost to our personal development is apparent when it comes to close relationships, yet do we ever stop to consider the rest? We focus on the main course, while believing the appetizers and the sides don’t count for anything?

Every single piece of information; conversation; interaction you have ultimately impacts your development. You are what you eat.

Whether this diet fuels your appetite for life or corrupts it is entirely up to you.

As Benjamin P. Hardy puts it, we must “remove all distraction and low-level energy”, or we become victims of our own inbox.

And how exactly do we do this?

By eliminating those which sap, drain, take, pilfer and eat away at our energy.

By unsubscribing.

This is only the first step to eliminating junk from your mind, body, and soul. Unless you adjust your filter, the process is bound to repeat, and you will soon find your inbox of life is once again brimming with this low-level energy.

Your filter

This is the tool of the titans; the chef’s secret sauce; the golden ticket to achieving the extraordinary, the fantastic, and the exceptional.

With a carefully maintained filter, you are only allowing growth-enhancing experiences to enter your life, and thus you only grow. The odd piece of junk will inevitably wind up in your inbox, but it is within your power alone to banish it for good.

Your filter must be guarded, protected and maintained. Keep it like a well-oiled machine; something more selective than an Amish Paleo Coeliac.

Never be afraid to say no to opportunities or ambitions that will lead you further from your dreams. In a world where moving constantly is a must, take your time before choosing a path.

Culling old, irrelevant friendships from your life gives you more energy for people that matter. Who are they? The people that enrich your experience. That inspire new thoughts. That challenge your ideas.

For the truth of these steps, look to those who inspire you.

Those that achieve the seemingly impossible do so by keeping the most immaculate of inboxes.

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