Sybil Shaibu column: What’s on your mind?

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One thing I have noticed people take for granted is the power of our thoughts. A person’s state of mind plays an integral role in how a person’s life pans out. Many a time the impact of the things we think about elude many of us. Events of this past year have brought to light the need for a strong mindset. The outcome of a lot things in our lives is dependent on how we manage our thoughts.

What is a thought? Thought is the process of using your mind to consider something. Thoughts are things. They are powerful. They are preemptive. The very thoughts running through your mind can help to manifest the life of your dreams. This statement is debatable, none the less the truth however is that, we are the product of our thoughts. Our thoughts can either be positive or negative and by all means, we each need to ensure that we have more positive thoughts.

What constitutes a thought process?  The human mind is by far one of the wonders of creation that I find very perplexing. Despite the abundant wealth of knowledge that research findings have on how the mind works, we are far from grasping the nuisances and complexities of the human mind.



How do we manage our thoughts? Psychology says that a person’s thought directly determines about 80% of their behavior. As to how this happens, the answer is simply nature. That’s how nature made us. Human beings are wired in such a way that our thoughts and behavior are intricately linked. There have been many research findings which affirm the already exiting theories propounded to corroborate the relationship between our thoughts and behavior.

What determines a person’s thoughts?

Most of the time our thoughts are determined by the things happening in our lives. And this comprises of things such as activities, situations, people etc. Happenings in and around our life all have a direct bearing on our thoughts. With all that’s been talked about it points to one direction, that being the need to learn how to manage our thoughts as individuals.

The same way that human beings are wired in such a way that our thoughts are directly linked to our behavior. We’re also wired naturally with the tendency to control our thoughts. The process is such that our thoughts creates feelings, and these feelings then create behavior and behavior reinforces thoughts.

This invariably means that when we control our thoughts we determine our behavior. That might sound like an impossible thing to do but then again it’s all in the mind. That’s where the entire thing emanates from…..the mind. The mind is a powerful tool that we each need to utilize to the utmost degree.

Did you know your mind is your body’s the strongest muscle? Interestingly many people don’t realize the inherent power of their thoughts.

Why? We go about our lives steeped in one mindset or another, without the clear realization that whatever it is we think about or focus on consistently we move towards.

There are three different modes of thinking; Convergent (using logic),Divergent(using imagination),Lateral (using both logic and imagination).

The key to success in life is to maintain a positive “yes, I can do it” mindset. These five points would help to create and sustain the positive mindset you need to attain the success you so desire.

  1. Surround yourself with positive people.
  2. Create a “go to” mantra or affirmation.
  3. Capture and eliminate negative thoughts.
  4. Set goals/intentions and then be willing to let it go.
  5. Be grateful and generous.

No one but you can decide to think positive thoughts, once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results. With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. We are what our thoughts have made us, so take care of what you think.

“Within the privacy of our own consciousness….in the theater of our mind…we create our own sense of reality, which we inhabit as our role in the great drama of life. It is a complex structure, like a skeletal system for our consciousness”.- Judith Johnson

“Change your thoughts and you change your world”.-Norman Vincent Peele

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