Your brain is the most sophisticated and complex structure in your body, and, on the planet. No other computer can come even close to doing what it can do. Your brain can imagine any possibility, solve any problem, create any outcome, overcome any adversity, heal any illness and guide you to any destination. It has the power to do the most incredibly wonderful things, however, it also has the power to take you down a path that you will regret, have regretted, or, are regretting. The key to using the amazing power of the brain, is to use it wisely and effectively. Get in, get focused and get out again.
It’s a busy and messy place in my head, and, not a place I want to spend too much time. Why is it we’re are often so self-critical and overly analytical? Have you ever heard the saying, if you spoke to your friends the same way you spoke to yourself, you’d possibly be a very lonely person?Like many, I can be very tough and harsh on myself at times. When I lose my keys, I’m an idiot. When I say something I maybe shouldn’t have said, I am stupid and unthinking. When I miss a goal or don’t get the results I want, I am hopeless and should just give up. If I tried and failed something before, I may as well not even try. Are you relating to any of this so far?
I work, and have worked, with many people over the last 30 years, on their health & fitness, in business and on becoming best-selling authors. The tragedy is that the vast majority, and I mean 80-90%, of people do not achieve the results they visualised, spoke about and started working towards when they began their journey. Why? They fell into that old mistake of thinking that they were the best person to solve their challenges, issues and problems. They went into and spend too much time in their own head.
Albert Einstein said; We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. In other words, where we are in life, good or bad, is due to our thinking, and, unless we change that thinking, we will stay in exactly the same place. This leads on to the other famous Albert Einstein quote, Insanity is doing the same things over and over again, and, expecting different results.
I want to make this very clear to you, and I; the longer we spend in our own head, with our limiting beliefs and flawed thinking, the longer we will stay stuck, frustrated and living a life far short of what is destined for us. The simple secret, then, if spending too much time in your own head is a bad thing, is to get in and then get straight out again, as quickly as possible.
The head steers the ships, the heart fuels the journey!
Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you need to avoid being in your head, and that it’s not a place you should spend some time. You will come up with amazing ideas, you will get inspiration, you will solve problems and you will achieve amazing things, based on the thoughts you choose and nurture. I guess what I’m saying here is; use your brain wisely and then get into motion to make things happen. The thought gives you the destination you want to reach and helps you determine the direction you need to take, but make no mistake, it’s your heart that will drive you to reaching it.
I will have to talk about myself again, at this point. Why? Because I know me really well, and, whilst I’m sure you’ve heard these stories before, the message is powerful and needs reinforcing. My greatest character trait, and maybe worst at the same time, is my spontaneity. I don’t spend a lot of time in my head, and the few times I do, I often self-sabotage myself. In other words, I think about something I want and then, without any over-analysis, I get excited and get moving. In other other words, I spend a short time in my head developing the idea and then allow the feelings in my heart to drive me into action. The initial action always reinforces the feeling, and, that cycle keeps me going until I am successful. My head got me started, but my heart fuelled the journey.
The two obvious and over-used examples involve my unlikely sporting and writing successes. I am an unlikely athlete and an accidental author. Unlikely athlete because I was significantly physically and ability deficient when, as a teenager, I thought about becoming a professional footballer. I spent just a very short time in my head, to visualise it and decide I would achieve it, then I moved straight to my heart, where the feelings and desire was strong enough to keep me doing what I needed to do to play Australian Football at the highest level. I am an accidental author because, at the time I spent a fleeting moment in my head to formulate the idea to become an author, I was time-poor, unqualified, and totally clueless about what it would take to write a book. Then, again, I moved quickly out of my head and into my heart, where the feelings and desire were strong enough to keep me doing what I needed to do to become a bestselling author.
So, are you ready for my simple and foolproof formula for success in any area of your life? Good, it is this; allow your mind to visualise what you want, and what the first step you need to take is, then, very quickly move out of your head and into your heart where the powerful positive emotions will move you to get the job done. That’s it! Do you want to be leaner and healthier? Can you visualise it? Do you know the first step to take? Great, then get out of your head and get emotionally committed to; feeling better, being a better parent, being better in your career and creating positive change in your life. If those feelings don’t get you moving and successful, nothing will. The same process will gain you success in; relationships, your career, your financial situation and any other aspiration you can create in your brain.
The challenge is that you must resist the urge to go back into your head for too long. That’s where the doubts, fears and troubles will start. Erroneous over-analysis, before you have even started, is what will sabotage you, if you let it get out of control. This’s why a mentor or trusted friend is essential to help keep you out of your head, and, in your heart where the magic happens.
The idea is in your head, but the inspiration is in your heart. Use your mind to imagine wonderful things for your life. Allow your mind to focus your attention on what is most important for and desired by you. Let your mind help you map out the first step. Then, stop over-thinking, move it from your head and hand it over to your heart. Your brain is an amazingly complex and sophisticated computer, so, get inside your head, use that computer to create something great, then get out again, take emotion-based action and watch what happens.