Stories Our Mind Tells Us

“Slipping up for a day is nothing, it won’t make me fail or throw me off track.” The next day “Oh my God…I am ruined, I will never be able to make up for slacking off yesterday, my aims are nothing more than dreams now.” We all have been told similar things by our minds, especially at this time of the year.

We all step into the year with a bunch of resolutions, hyped about the new Yoga routine we plan to do and the secret to efficiency we have discovered. For a couple of weeks we tick off every task on our to-do lists, we feel that the Yoga routine is already doing its magic, but then we are nudged by a little devil inside us, our minds. This is when our minds coax us using the initial words in the previous paragraph. Not surprisingly, we give in. The next day our mind gives us another nudge. This time sending us on a guilt trip because we didn’t do what we had expected of ourselves.

The dilemma is which nudge should we respond to? Neither. The mind is a student, you, my friend is its teacher. If the student starts instructing the teacher, the outcome will only be doom. Listen to your mind, take valuable suggestions from it, but don’t let it control you. When you decide to stick with something or work towards achieving something, don’t do it in the influence of a high of motivation, that is yet another mischievous nudge from your mind. But once you decide on doing something don’t let your mind play tricks on you. At that moment think of what and do what needs to be done not what you feel like doing. If you think of it there are two realities one which our mind shows us, and the real one.

Your mind is a mischievous and naughty student. Like every naughty student, it needs a strict, but loving teacher to discipline it. Be that teacher.

Happy New Year.