Mind-Control is defined as: Subverting by means of psychological tactics an individual’s control of his or her mind (thinking, behavior, emotions, or decisions). One acknowledged technique to facilitate this is hypnosis. Subvert is defined as to overthrow, destroy or undermine.
Taking control of ones mind sounds complicated and something out of a sci-fi novel, but I’m here to break it down and tell you how simple and IMPORTANT it really is for daily success. I’ll start with a scenario below.
Congratulations on the promotion! These words rang in my ears for weeks as the news travelled across my organization. I had just been through a grueling three month interview process and I knew there were other qualified candidates in the running as well.
THEN IN AN INSTANT
Despite my true excitement, qualifications and longing for this position, I found myself feeling overwhelmed, unsure of myself and unqualified. There was a subtle voice in my mind whispering things like, “They must have made a mistake and meant to choose someone else” or “What if I can’t lift this team up and produce results” or even worse yet, “Maybe I should quit before I really screw up someone else’s life”. – Sounds terrible, right? I would never talk to someone like that so why on earth would I talk to myself that way?
Our subconscious is the culprit for this mind game and it’s our job to shut it down. I’ve outlined three simple steps below to help you gain control of your mind.
#1 CHECK UP FROM THE NECK UP
Our subconscious drives doubt and most of the time it starts with quiet thoughts such as “I’m in over my head”, “I’m not good enough”, “I’m not capable”. As these thoughts arise, this is where mind-control becomes our greatest tool – and fear not, the Jedi force is within us all.
Success is learning to drive PAST the STINKING THINKING and through to a more powerful YOU. Even Zig Ziglar recognized this and shared this with others often.
“We all need a daily check up from the neck up to avoid stinkin ‘thinkin’ …” – Zig Zilar
HA! Check up from the neck up – this thought in itself should stop you in your tracks and break the negativity. Another one you may like, all though not sure it’s what Ice Cube had in mind is “Check yourself before you wreck yourself”
Both of these concepts can serve as daily reminders to make a purposeful check into our thoughts and take back control of our minds.
#2 SPIN IT POSITIVE
Once we kill the stinking thinking, it’s time to move to the next step in mind control.
Try this exercise, Identify where the thought is stemming from and then spin the thought into something positive. HINT: 9 times out of 10 the negative thought is driven from fear.
For example, let’s take the thought that’s crept up for me many times. “I’m in over my head.” First I identify the fear associated with this thought and I take a moment to soak that in. I am scared. I am scared that I’m in over my head and won’t be able to dig myself out of this project. I am scared that if I can’t dig myself out of the project that I’ll miss my deadline and ultimately fail. Now that I’ve identified the fear, I can use my Jedi magic to spin the negative into a positive. I force my thoughts through writing them, thinking them and even saying them out loud.
I. AM. CAPABLE. I will NOT in to give in to my fear. I’ve got this. I’ve been here before and I like a good challenge. I’m resilient, resourceful and I’ll rock this.
#3 DAY DREAM THE GOOD DREAM
The last step in mind control is envisioning the success and what it will look like.
Let’s pretend you are supposed to give a presentation next week. You’ve already checked in with yourself and have identified that you are scared your message may not go over well and your audience may not agree with the concepts you are presenting. Aside from properly preparing your talk track and visuals, take some time to dream about what success will look like when you knock it out of the park. Get as detailed as you would like, sometimes you may want to dream about what you will be wearing, the excitement in the room when you give your presentation, the way your audience hangs on to each and every word coming out of your mouth and the way they engage with you during and after the presentation.
Take it even a step further and identify what success will look like for you when this presentation goes well. Maybe it means a nice deal that will close out your year, or an innovative break though that will change the way others do business. Whatever success means to you and for this presentation, THAT’S the piece that you should identify and day dream about.
NOTE: I’m not saying you shouldn’t properly prepare, that’s important. What I am saying is that in addition to preparation, the way to control your mind in a positive way is to take it a step further and spend some time envisioning success and paint the picture of what that looks like and means to you.
Many great books and leaders have written about this topic. Mel Robbins dives into this topic in 5 Second Rule as well as her TED talks. Emee Vide Estacio goes into great detail and guidance in her book The PAME Code. Rhonda Byrne wrote The Secret which really takes the benefits of positive thinking to a new level. There are so many resources out there that expand on this and multiple schools of thought if you’d like to dive deeper into this topic.
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