The Process of Thought: The Ultimate Guide On Mastering Your Emotions
Financial success, physical fitness, confidence, and everything in between. They all can be improved if you learn to control your thoughts and emotions.
All The Power This World Has To Offer You Resides Within Your Mind
Everything we do in life begins with a thought process or something very near to one. Even the so-called “primal instincts” we have, lying dormant deep inside our DNA and passed on to us from our ancestors, was nothing more than a thought process followed by an emotional reaction, which turns into physical action.
It’s these types of thoughts, (the kind ingrained in us because of deep emotions and memories we have attached to them), that affect change in us.
It starts with stimuli, or simply, something happening to you. Then follows the thought process, which triggers an emotional reaction, then causing you to react verbally or physically. The result of this altercation may turn out to be a very pleasant experience, or perhaps it will end up haunting you.
The latter type of result is the one that unfortunately adds another layer. The memories.
Memories can be very good, or bad. One thing that they all have in common is the fact that they stick with us. Some will fade with time, yet some will sting 20 years later just as badly as when first formed.
The feelings associated with the memories are so strong that even if we don’t remember what caused them in the first place, like our ancestors hunting Mammoths, or when you got cheated on in the 6th grade, they changed us.
Perhaps that’s why when humans are driven to extreme hunger, even in the “civilized” world, you read about atrocities you yourself could never imagine committing.
Maybe it’s why after 14 years of faithful marriage with the same woman, (the woman who has never once cheated and is the definition of loyalty), your mistrust and jealousy finally shattered the marriage.
I’m sorry for talking about such dark things, and I promise it does get better. I just want you to understand what I’m talking about, and how deep these things can run.
Sometimes these thoughts, emotions, memories, (call them what you will but in the end their all the same) are in the back of our minds. They may be sub-conscious ones, rather than the conscious ones we’re all accustomed to these days, but thoughts and emotions they are.
Whether you know it or not, your brain is attaching them to memory.
If you allow this to happen for too long, just letting your brain process and sort these all by itself, you may not like the results you end up with.
Fight or Flight used to be the biggest decision our ancestors had to make. In ways, that decision is the only reason we are still here. I’m not suggesting that we all evolved from apes, I have no clue where we came from or by what means the first human appeared on Earth.
The fact that genes and instincts such as the “Fight or Flight” reaction is something that’s instilled in humans of all nationalities and races.
This allowed us to accomplish something that no other mammal was ever able to. We survived, and pushed through the ages, eventually becoming the Apex Predator of the planet. Up to this point, we still are.
We no longer have to think fight or flight every day. The decision meaning the difference between food in the bellies of our family and clan, or death for all.
Sounds deep, but very true. In ways, our minds and bodies still make these decisions, (albeit for much simpler reasons), and surly for reasons never meant for such strong emotions and thoughts.
Those were for survival.
Today, people go into fight or flight response over reasons as simple as someone turning them down at the High School Dance.
They hear NO… Suddenly the adrenal glands tense, cortisol starts to build filter its way through the Cro Magnon’s bloodstream.
Fight or Flight instantly kicks in, almost without him noticing, (it’s still in the sub-conscious of his mind at this stage), although now he’s very aware of it. Aware a choice needs to be made, now. It’s life or death.
Run or fight?
With adrenaline pumping, heart rate rising, focus narrowing… He runs away crying, all because no one wanted to dance with him.
His ancestors would be proud…
Although, his body does not know it was something as simple as embarrassment that filled him. What seemed like it could have been hours, was only a few brief moments. Cortisol, among other bodily chemical reactions, is still raging through him, though it’s beginning to subside now.
All other things that took place in those few moments of embarrassment are calming as well. His hands aren’t trembling anymore.
He sighs a breath of relief, realizing that he’s still alive and well. He feels shame, (as we know what shame is today in 2021), but would his ancestors recognize that emotion? That thought?
It will eat at him for years to come, even affecting his future marriage to a woman he’ll meet in 9 years, across the country and so different looking from the one he tried to dance with tonight that there is no chance of recognizing anything of her in the new bride.
Yet, he developed serious trust issues, leaving that traumatizing night in the dark recesses of his mind, talking to no one, and laughing it off when it got brought up.
He’ll divorce after 15 years of marriage and two kids. Unfortunately, he may even take…
How mind and body are connected, with thought and emotion being the cord to tie them.
All of this is not good for the body, not in the slightest bit. Cortisol alone does so much inside the human body it’s crazy. Don’t believe me? Read this article from the National Institute of Health, or NIH, and see what they have to say on this matter.
Although it’s a natural thing for your body to do, overstimulation can lead to very bad consequences for your mental and physical health. What was meant to heal and aid you, begins to hurt and slow you.
Just to name a few things that Cortisol aids the human body in:
- Regulates blood pressure
- Manages how your body uses carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
- High levels can increase your blood sugar (glucose)
- Maintains the body's internal alarm clock. (sleep and wake)
That’s just to name a few. Here’s a very good article that breaks down what Cortisol is, and how it affects the body. It talks about a great many things that it can do, (or hurt), for the human body.
I’d love to write an entire article about the physical aspect of what the mind can do to the body, but click that link and it’ll do for now. Instead, I wrote one about what the mind can do to your mental state.
It’s not talked about enough, and some even consider it a taboo of sorts. You know all the old mantras.
“Men don’t talk about their feelings.”
“This is no place for a woman to be walking around.”
The funny part is the people who used to make these sorts of comments must have forgotten about the 9th. grade dance.
I don’t much like to dabble in politics, let alone picking a side to take. I wanted to make that clear because I know some people will take the next thing I’m about to talk about as political.
So I’ll make sure to equally bash the two sides. Or three I guess?
Anyway, it’s my opinion that men, women, transgender, don’t matter. We’re all soft these days.
I highly doubt that there are more than 10,000 humans on the face of the Earth that could survive a lifetime living on the plains of Africa, 5,000 B.C.
If we didn’t starve, then after 2–3 years our mental state would probably begin to break down due to the carnage and harsh realities of life back then. There wouldn’t be a psychiatrist to call up for help, or an ambulance to escort us to the nearest hospital.
You must take care of your mental state. I know that this next part is going to sound a bit off-topic, but it will all tie together in the end.
This is all such a broad, and deep concept that it cannot be written out in a single Medium post. So I choose out a sub-section, so-to-speak, and figured that I’ll focus the bulk of the content on that one thing to ensure it gets the full attention deserved.
Considering what we are dealing with, (COVID-19, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, well, at least since he left office), I thought that this would be a good topic. It’s about how we all have to be careful of how we perceive the world. Self-doubt, hatred, envy, all of these, and more are very bad for you.
Both mentally and physically.
If you live most of your life thinking in the wrong way or perceiving information as hostile when it’s meant to be helpful, or you look upon someone as “lucky”, or envy them rather than admire and learn from them…
Well, it can lead to a very unhappy life, if not a much worse condition.
The Why Problem
I don’t know why I decided to name it the “why” problem. Once you read what it is, you’ll understand. So one day when I was feeling particularly angry at nothing, (at least it was a relief from the depression), I began to wonder if it would ever subside.
These feelings of unease, anger, sadness…They had to go away.
I had to find a way.
I became determined to make it happen. Little did I know, that was exactly what I was supposed to do. Think. Simple as that, I began to keep a very close watch on my thoughts. If I was in a bad mood getting up for work, I’d tell myself it was at least not too sunny and hot. We needed an overcast day.
Small things like that. But mostly, I stopped using the why excuse. Instead of “Why is he so tall, and I so short? “It’s not fair!”
I would try to think about the positive “Well, I’m not tall, and there's no chance that will change at my age.”
“Besides, that girl Mercadies at work, (who the tall man conveniently has to have taken a liking to as well), made a comment in passing to me the other day about how she likes men he height.”
More importantly than that, if you find yourself asking why someone has so much money, or gets such spectacular grades while you’re poor and a c+ student at best…
Maybe instead of asking yourself why, and getting the obvious answer that you know you want to hear, try asking the person as to how they have achieved their accomplishments.
Try approaching the person and situation like this instead: “How is it that you can maintain such good grades throughout the school year?”
You’ll be amazed at the results. Life will take on a new light, become more enjoyable. Other people will start to enjoy your company a hell of a lot more too.
Negativity is very contagious, and for me, the usual suspect of my negativity was the all-important, and protective, why.
If you’re wondering why all the time, you're only inviting negativity into your life. There’s no right or wrong answer when you wonder why. Eventually, your mind will make its own answer up, if you haven’t already been prescribed one by someone else.
One way or another your mind will come up with an answer, justification, or a solution.
It’s up to you to decide which one prevails.
The Answer: “He only became the richest man in the world because of the childhood he had and the opportunities afforded to him.”
The Justification: “It’s so unfair… Why should he have Billions, when my entire family has only hundreds?”
The Solution: “I need to talk to that person if possible and ask them how they accomplished it.” “If I can’t talk to them, I’ll research it myself, and if I apply as much, or more, hard work and dedication as they did, there’s no way I’ll fail.”
Once You Decide, Then What?
Why is very easy. It’s a way for your brain to justify the unfairness that your brain perceives in the world around you. If you refuse to accept this and demand to know how instead, you might just get a solution to the question.
Always remember that why is just a word. It’s the meaning you attach to the word that matters.
I could’ve switched them around, used how as the bad and why as the good. Or maybe used different words entirely.
As I said, it’s the meaning I attached to it that matters. It’s your mindset and how you perceive information that makes all the difference.
The Conclusion
Just remember to be mindful…
I would get death threats if someone made it all the way to the end of this article and I had ended it like that.
Anyway, I hope this helped you out, or at least gave you some insight and knowledge about your mind, emotions, and body. How they are one, working together as a single organism to keep you alive.
Even the skin is meant for so much more than it gets used for these days. The skin on our bodies is the largest organ we have. Weird huh? All the same, it’s the truth.
This organ called the skin we have protects us from hot and cold alike. Yes, most people think its main function is to keep our insides safe and secure.
Keep the bones and blood in, and the dirt, infection, and environment out.
In fact, it has a great many more benefits than you might imagine. We probably used these to our advantage all the time back in the caveman, or cavewoman, days.
The skin has millions of small capillaries, pours, nerves, etc… All linked to the brain via the nervous system. It gives us sensation, touch, feel, pain, pleasure. We already know that. But what about if you are always using these sensations, almost reaching out to feel the wind?
I know that sounds crazy, and I don’t want to speculate too much on what I’m guessing at, but I think perhaps the skin, with all its links to the nervous system and the brain, can function in a similar fashion to the other 5 senses.
In its own way, of course, likely as different as sight to hear, or taste to touch.
Ohh, btw…
I know that technically touch is “The Skin” sense, but I’ve read some very interesting work by unorthodox researchers and the theories they have regarding the skin. Touch, pain, pleasure, and the like are only the tip of the iceberg they say.
Again, this is all speculation, so I’ll leave that one up to you. If you decide to look into it, Google some things and read what comes up. you may just go into a hole and read until you learn what has been eluding me all this time…
Shit, I exposed the real reason for writing this…
