Do You have Mastery of the Mind or. Mutiny of the Mind

Thoughts drive actions, actions drive results.  It is for this reason that we first take time out to look at how Top Performers think.  To do this we must first examine the brain and its true functions.  The human brain is a wonderful marvel of development and design which is in control of virtually every function carried out by the human body. One of the brains main functions is to help the body preserve life.  When confronted with a situation your brain quickly asks itself three questions:  What is it?  What does this mean? And what should I do?  From there natural instinct, emotions or preplanned actions (or habits) usually take control.  It is in the answers of these three questions that separates the Top Performers from everyone else. When answering the question “What is it”, Top Performers quickly create an accurate thought concerning what “it” really is. 

Creating an accurate thought is essential in this process of mastering the mind.   Too many times, when trying to create an accurate thought, people confuse a fact with an opinion.  Knowing the difference can greatly impact your outcome.  A Fact is reality whereas an opinion is our perception of reality.  The Alarm clock goes off at 5 o’clock in the morning, the average person believes it’s too early to start the day.  Whereas a Top Performer believes 5 o’clock is the perfect time to start their day.  The fact is that it is 5 o’clock, however each are operating off a different opinion.  As a result they will have different outcomes.  The average person will go back to bed and the Top performer will rise to the opportunities the morning brings.  They will engage their positive self talk to motivated themselves out of bed knowing the same mental toughness it takes to get out of bed is the same mental toughness to stick to your diet, and to move yourself out of the your comfort zone into productivity.

Contrary to popular opinion, Top Performers are not all optimistic thinkers and only see the good in things, they also carefully weigh the not so good.  They consider them both without getting over excited or overly dramatic.  Once they have created this accurate assessment they can then line up the second and third question (What does this mean and what will I do) with their desired goal.

Most people when faced with a situation allows past programming, natural instinct or expected emotions to dictate action and response.  They are often unaware of the power they possess in their mind to dictate their personal emotions, thoughts and outcome.  They fail to realize that depending on what you tell yourself, about any given situation will ultimately determine your ultimate action and result.  Top Performers know that only you control your thoughts.  Others can influence them but only you control them.

When Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer he had a choice how to process that information.  He could have labeled his late stages of cancer as a death sentence, prepared for the last days of his life and died, but he didn’t.  Top performers never give up that easy.  Instead he created an accurate thought of what his cancer was.  He did his homework concerning his condition.  He then came to the conclusion concerning what this meant and what he needed to do to recover, all the while keeping his mind on his ultimate goal…winning!   Was he fearful, sure, courage is not always the elimination of fear but the transformation of fear to fuel.  The fear of dying was part of his motivation for living.

 Top Performers know the process of taking control of your thoughts begins way before the situation presents itself.  After all, you don’t sharpen your weapon on the battlefield, you prepare for the battle way before battle begins.  It is for this reason that they are very selective about what they watch, who they listen too, and what they read and who they hang around.  They are very aware that the single one thing that separates them from the crowd is what they feed their mind and how they think and process information. 

THE BOTTOM LINE:  As a man thinkith in his heart so is he! -  King Solomon