Mind Control. Is it real? Would you be shocked if I said it was? Of course, I’m not talking about MK Ultra or reading other people’s minds, but we have LOTS of control over our own.
Spirals and Loops
When we get into thought spirals and rumination loops we tend to believe the lie that we do not have control of our minds, but rather our minds have control of us. It’s easy to see how we can believe this, and trust me I’ve been there. But we are the authors of our thoughts, and when automatic thoughts pop up we are stuck in them only out of habit, not out of necessity.
Over the course of our lives, starting from a young age, we are not taught very much about our thoughts and how we can interact with them. In fact, we’re not taught we can interact with them at all! By default, our thoughts become a thing that we believe we just have to be subjected to – good or bad. So as a result, we get into the habit of just believing everything we think and settling into the idea that we have to ride along on any thought train that comes rolling into the station. We assume we have to board these thought vehicles that chug along without a conductor, wreaking havoc on our sense of wellbeing.
As adults, if we’re willing to examine this process, and practice something new with an open mind we can begin to see a different way. We realize that we, in fact, are equipped to conduct this train. That conductor booth is empty because we were never shown the door, but we need only open that door, get in the seat, and direct these thoughts where we do and do not want them to go.
This doesn’t mean we will never have unpleasant thoughts, but it will mean that we have more agency to interact with them rather be held captive by them.
When you have a thought that is unpleasant, or enter into a rumination loop that is tiresome, I challenge you to imagine yourself as the conductor of that thought. The CEO of your mind, making decisions and calling the shots. Remember, your thoughts are just thoughts. You have the power and the agency to have a healthier relationship with them.
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