7 min read
“How to Master Your Mind: Full Guide”
Introduction
The human mind is an puzzle, capable of incredible feats and susceptible to crippling setbacks. With the rise of cognitive science and neurology, we now have access to powerful techniques and insights to help us understand and shape our mental landscape.
However, research and studies won’t define everything inside of this article. Sure, it’ll make up for some pieces. But for a majority of the content inside this blog, I’ll tell you what really works, and what doesn’t. The human mind is the most dangerous and capable weapon in your arsenal. If you can’t control it, you will fall victim to its traps, its delusions, and false hope of achieving greatness when you’ve gone nowhere.
The time to make progress is now. So let’s start with the first article in the 2nd volume of your personal growth journey: mastering your mind.
Understanding The Mind
The Amazing Plastic Brain
Our brain is like a supercomputer that’s always reprogramming itself. Imagine a street map constantly reshaping itself – that’s how our brain works. This ability of the brain to change and adapt is called “neuroplasticity.” It’s like plasticity in plastic; it can mold and reshape. But instead of plastic, it’s your brain doing the reshaping.
When you learn something new, like playing the guitar or riding a bike, your brain changes. New pathways form, and the more you practice, the stronger these pathways become. It’s like walking through a field of tall grass. The first time, it’s tough to walk through, but as you keep walking the same path, it becomes a clear trail.
The Brain’s Response to Experiences
Our life experiences, good or bad, play a huge role in shaping our brain. Think of your brain as a sponge soaking up everything around you. The things you see, hear, and do every day are shaping your brain. When you face challenges or learn new things, your brain grows stronger.
In the past, people thought that the brain stops developing after childhood, but now we know that’s not true. Our brain continues to develop and change throughout our lives. This means it’s never too late to learn a new skill or change a habit. It’s like your brain has an ‘update’ button, and you can keep hitting it at any age.
Method #1: Cognitive Behavioral Techniques
Rewiring Your Thoughts
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is like a toolbox for your mind. It’s full of techniques to help you deal with negative thoughts and feelings. Imagine your mind is a garden. Negative thoughts are like weeds. If you don’t take care of them, they can take over. CBT gives you the tools to pull out those weeds and plant some flowers instead.
CBT is based on the idea that our thoughts, feelings, and actions are connected. If you change one, it can impact the others. For example, if you constantly think, “I’m not good enough,” it can make you feel depressed or anxious, leading to avoiding challenges. CBT helps you challenge these negative thoughts and replace them with more realistic, positive ones.
Practical Steps in CBT
Here’s how CBT might work in real life. Let’s say you’re scared of public speaking. Every time you have to do it, you think, “I’m going to mess up.” That thought makes you feel anxious, so maybe you avoid speaking or get really nervous when you do. With CBT, you start to challenge that thought. You learn to replace it with something like, “I might be nervous, but I can handle this.”
CBT isn’t just about positive thinking. It’s about realistic thinking. It’s about looking at your thoughts and saying, “Is this really true? Is there evidence for this, or is there another way to look at it?” It’s like being a detective in your own mind, looking for clues to find out the truth behind your thoughts.
CBT in Action
CBT involves working with a therapist, but there are also techniques you can try on your own. One common technique is called “journaling.” It’s where you write down your negative thoughts and then challenge them. Another technique is called “behavioral experiments.” This is where you test out the reality of your negative thoughts. For example, if you think, “If I speak up in a meeting, everyone will think I’m stupid,” you might try speaking up once to see what happens.
A Proven Study
If you’re interested in seeing real, backed-up evidence regarding the content above, you can check out this study on “Neuroplasticity and Adult Learning” by S. H. Annabel Chen and Alicia M. Goodwill.
It provides valuable insights into the brain’s ability to adapt and learn throughout adulthood. This study emphasizes the concept of neuroplasticity, pointing out that the adult brain is malleable and capable of structural and functional changes in response to experiences and learning.
“The mind is like a factory – complex and powerful”
Method #2: Mindfulness & Meditation
Mindfulness and meditation are practices that you’ve probably heard all over the internet. Every person in the self-help space all advertise meditation and good mental health more than anything else.
You know why? Because it actually works.
What we’re talking about aren’t just spiritual concepts; they’re powerful mental tools rooted in science. A landmark study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital revealed that mindfulness meditation can lead to changes in the brain’s gray matter, which is involved in learning, memory, and emotional regulation.
These practices help us to attune to our present experiences, providing a form of mental training to enhance focus and reduce reactive emotional responses.
In my experience, spending even a few minutes (5, per say) every day -either in the morning or night- gives my brain time for it to wind down experiences from the day before, or from the day that is nearly over. It gives me the time I need to calm down my nerves, relax my body and head, and take time to grasp what has happened and what I must do tomorrow.
Meditation is great for good mental health, because it removes a lot of the jargon swarming the inside of your mind, thus ruining the clarity you’ve always been wanting. Of course, good mental health is followed by various other habits too, but meditation’s a start.
Action Step 1
Tonight, or tomorrow morning, I want you to spend 5 minutes (at least) in a dark and quiet room, sitting down, closing your eyes, and taking deep breathes through your nose. Don’t think about anything, and just focus all your attention towards the rhythm of your breathing.
Occasionally, your mind will distract itself with randomly occurring thoughts to keep itself occupied. In this situation, you have one of two choices:
- Stop thinking about XYZ, and focus on your breathing
- Let the thought finish and continue breathing with no further distraction
“A Healthy Brain Is the Most Powerful Tool In Your Toolkit: Here’s Why”
Method #3: Diet & Exercise
If you want to carve a newer, better version of your current self, you need to get rid of your bad habits holding you down. The top ones on that list of “stuff to get rid of” are your diet, and your physical activity.
Let’s fix that.
Right now, ask yourself: “what am I eating every day?”
Are you the type to eat fast food on a daily basis? Or maybe it’s processed and frozen foods instead? Or maybe you’re one of the few who actually eat healthy as often as possible?
Brain-Boosting Foods
Your diet is a powerful tool to boost brain power. Foods rich in antioxidants, like blueberries and dark chocolate, protect your brain from damage. Leafy greens and whole grains are full of B vitamins, which are great for brain health. They help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, which can cloud thinking and memory. Foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids, like fish, nuts, and seeds, are essential for brain function. They help build and repair brain cells. Think of Omega-3s as the building blocks for your brain.
Exercise and Brain Health
Exercise is a brain’s best friend. Aerobic exercises, like running, swimming, or cycling, pump more oxygen-rich blood to your brain, which helps it work better. Regular exercise has been shown to increase the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in memory and learning.
It also releases chemicals that are good for your brain, like endorphins, which improve mood and reduce stress and anxiety. Exercise is a natural anti-aging remedy for the brain, keeping it young and active.
Method #4: Sleep’s Impact on Mental Mastery
Good sleep matters so much, especially when you’re young and having bones that are still growing. Yet, so many people apart of this new and current generation throw their sleep in the bin in exchange for more dopamine, more enjoyment, and more self-destruction.
Every single time that you fall victim to an urge or order given by your mind, you’ve lost another war.
Nowadays, a majority of us are at war with our minds. Very few of us are legitimately at peace with it. Sadly enough, those who are at peace with it are either one of two people:
- Someone who always falls victim to mental urges, desires, and orders. These people live day-to-day, controlled by their minds, with no way to wage war as they have already given up. (most common)
- Someone who has fought long and hard and has countered every obstacle set by their mind, and has taken the steep and bumpy long road to get to their current position of success. These people live day-to-day at peace with their minds, as they have found their strengths, found their weaknesses, and crafted a version of themselves that they are happy to live with day-by-day. These folks waged war and won, even if they lost very many times throughout.
Now, back to sleep, you must ignore that urge you get to not go to sleep. Unless you want to drop dead by the age of 40, with terrible health, and in awful condition, consider sleep as one of your main priorities from now on (even if it isn’t the most consistent thing you get done day-by-day).
Sleep and Memory
Quality sleep is crucial for learning and memory. During sleep, your brain is busy processing and consolidating memories from the day. Think of it as your brain’s filing system. If you don’t get enough sleep, it’s like the files get jumbled up or lost. Sleep also helps in problem-solving and creativity. It’s during sleep that your brain often makes connections between ideas, leading to those “Eureka!” moments when you wake up.
The Cleansing Power of Sleep
During sleep, your brain literally cleans itself. It removes toxins that accumulate during the day. This nightly clean-up is crucial for preventing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Without enough sleep, these toxins can build up, leading to long-term brain health issues. It’s like giving your brain a nightly detox, making sure it’s refreshed and ready for the next day.
“Sleep Habits & Sleep Statistics (2022)”
Method #5: Lifelong Learning & Mental Flexibility
Always Be Learning
Lifelong learning is key to keeping your brain in shape. When you learn new things, your brain forms new neural connections. It doesn’t matter what age you are; your brain has the amazing ability to grow and change throughout your entire life. Learning new skills, whether it’s a new language, a musical instrument, or even a new game, helps to keep your brain agile and sharp.
Mental Flexibility and Resilience
By continually challenging your brain, you build a cognitive reserve. This is your brain’s ability to improvise and find alternate ways of doing things. Think of it as a buffer against the losses that come with aging. Learning new things and keeping your brain active can also help ward off mental decline and improve your mental flexibility and resilience. It’s about not just learning new facts, but also new ways of thinking, which helps keep your brain versatile and adaptable.
Action Step 2
There are two activities that I’ll present to you, and it’s your choice to choose which you prefer doing.
Action #1: Add 2 Hours To Your Sleep
How much sleep do you currently get? Is it 12, 10, 8, 6, or 5 hours? Is it even worse than that?
Now, if you are someone that does get 10-12 hours of sleep, then I advise that you ignore this activity. Besides, you already get plenty of sleep. The last thing you need (especially if you want to make the most of your time) is more sleep.
But, if you’re someone who gets less than 10 hours, I challenge you to go to sleep 2 hours earlier than you normally do for a week. As every day passes (from day 1, to the end of the week – being 7, not 5 days), journal, journal, journal. Record what you experience and the results of getting more sleep. Are you more energized, productive, happy, and cognitively capable?
From there, you decide whether to continue on or stop. The choice is yours, and you already know which one is better for you.
Action #2: Learn Something New Every Day
Similar to the previous activity, this one will last exactly a week (unless you wish to continue it for longer).
Specifically, what I’m asking you to do is learn something new every day for a week straight. Now, when I say something “new”, I’m not talking about how baseball has more rules than you thought it did.
Instead, I’m talking about something skill/information-related. Maybe you’ve wanted to learn a new language for a while, in which you should learn the basics for it. Or maybe you’ve really wanted to learn how to backflip, in which case you should dedicate as much time as you feel is comfortable just to learning it – from the ground up. Or possibly you’ve heard about the process of nuclear fusion, and heard how it powered Iron Man’s arc reactor, and wanted to research more about it, its process, and how it is made possible with current and fictional technologies.
Whatever it’d be, ensure that whatever it is new that you are learning, that it is something educational or useful in some way. Sure, doing a backflip may not be either, but it’s cool. And it’s a skill that takes time. Time spent away from screens usually ends up being time well spent.
“The Key To Success Isn’t What You Think It Is”
Method #6: Do Stuff That You Hate
This one comes specifically from me.
As I discussed earlier, each one of us is or will be at war with our minds eventually. And the only way to win that war is by doing stuff that you hate, but pulls you in the right direction.
You may hate running, but you know that it’s good for you. So do it.
You may hate working for hours on end, but you know that it pays the bills and puts food on the table. So do it.
You may hate reading, but you now that it improves your mental health and boosts your cognitive functions. So do it.
Nothing Will Get Better
Stop complaining and get back to work. The harsh reality is that nothing in your life will repair itself on its own. If you want things to improve, you’re going to have to work for it and keep on grinding until things are better than the way they are now.
My Favorite Way of Training the Mind
My favorite way of doing that is by participating in activities that I hate. The brain is a powerful weapon, and if it gives us orders, the majority give in and do whatever it says. That’s the mind of a loser and someone who has failed to accomplish and reach their full potential.
In the mind of a winner, it’s far different. In contrast, rather than doing stuff that satisfies their brain, they do things that it hates. They exercise until their muscles are all sore, to the point where they can’t even walk in a straight line. They work until they get everything on their to-do list done. And they wake up earlier than the rest of their family by hours, just so that they can fit in more time for valuable work time.
What I Do
Every day, I wake up at 5 AM and go to bed around 10 PM. Within that space of time, I aim to make the most out of every single minute of the day. Whether it’d be productive work, non-negotiable habits, self-care routines, reading, researching, or anything related – I get it done.
In the beginning, it sucked waking up or getting back home from a long day of work and having to complete a full days worth of to-do items. Now, it’s my favorite thing to do during my day.
Be aware. Not everyone will be fortunate like me to love working, and happen to be a workaholic. If that’s you, then you hit the jackpot, seriously. But if that isn’t you, then expect to consistently be at war with your mind until it obeys and until both of you are at peace.
Wage war until your mind simply has no other choice but to surrender. You can continue to fight or fall short of victory, just because you couldn’t get enough satisfaction.
Action Step 3
Today, I want you to choose something that you dislike -or even hate- doing. Maybe it’s running, swimming, reading, taking notes, or just working in general. Whatever it is, choose something to focus on and concentrate on that activity.
From there, set a time limit for how long you should do it. Now, don’t be scared to set a high time limit. That’s what we’re here to test after all, your mental strength. Are you mentally capable of reading for an hour straight without getting up, getting distracted, or grabbing your phone to scroll on your phone for as long as your mind pleases?
When doing that thing, your brain will beg you to stop. The difficult part is saying no. If you do as proposed, it will hurt (maybe not actually, but it will feel that way). Your mind will give you a thousand reasons why you shouldn’t bother continuing. Yet, you must stand your ground.
Do this consistently and repeatedly for as many tasks as you wish to test it with for a few weeks, and watch how your mind starts to listen and adapt to the conditions. Soon enough, it won’t be as much of a struggle waking up early, meditating for 15 minutes straight, or running 5 miles right after getting out of bed. By this point, you have almost won the war.
“Why The War Against Your Mind Will Destroy You Before You Can”
Conclusion
Mastering your mind is a comprehensive, continuous journey that encompasses understanding its neurobiology, nurturing it through mindfulness, refining it with cognitive strategies, sustaining it with a healthy lifestyle, and throwing obstacles at it until it obeys.
Hopefully the information you found in this document was useful. Best luck on conquering and mastering your mind, fellow solider.
Thanks for reading Part 2 to a series called “Taking Back Control”.
