Understanding the power of mindset (part 2)

UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF 

MINDSET

(PART 2)

In the previous write up, I talked about the significance of mindset in determining the quality of the life you live. As a matter of fact, your life is a reflection of what your mindset is. Everything you do in life is product of what you think subconsciously. I need you to understand the fact that the configuration of man is such that the soul —the house of the mind — is the main determiner of whatever happens in us. The body is designed by God to be just an executioner while the mind is designed to act like a processor.

When a thought enters the mind, the mind processes it and sends  information to the body for execution. So, our body is designed to reflect the condition of our mind. This is what makes your mindset very powerful in determining the kind of life you live. No wonder, one of the wisest biblical figure ever lived says, "as a man thinks in his heart, so is he" . You are not what others say you are, but you are what you think you are. If you condition your mind to think failure all the time, your entire life will begin to conform to that thinking pattern such that no matter how successful something/someone is, you will always see failure in the thing /person. For instance, if you have conditioned your mind that a particular course is difficult, no matter how simple it is actually, you will always find a reason why it’s difficult. You know why? That’s the condition of your mind. And, that’s the information your body currently receives. The state of your mind controls the happenings in your life because your thoughts are not mere thoughts. They have creative powers. What is in you, and not necessarily what is around you is what controls your life. For instance, poverty is more of a mentality than it is of lack of money. little wonder that the scripture warns that we should keep our hearts with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.  - Prov. 4:23. You don’t know how powerful your mind can be.

It was said of Nelson Mandela that he sat one day in the front of a church, and he said to himself, “One day, I will become the president of this country —South Africa”. Years, later his dream came true. Though, he went through trying times fighting for the interest of his country. He was imprisoned, but the mindset was not! His dream of becoming the president which made up his mindset never changed. He kept it alive. Circumstances could not change it. Imprisonment could not! Only you are responsible for the outcome of your life because only you decides what stays in your mind.

I have come to realize also that everything thing you believe in life in one way or the other is what becomes your reality. I could remember  in my 100 level days, I had a goal of a particular academic attainment. This was my focus. I thought of it almost every time. When the first semester results came out, i didn't meet the goal. In second semester, I  almost met it but I didn't. Meanwhile, I had been having good grades, but those good grades, to me, were not enough why? Because, my mindset had been trained to see anything less than the goal as a failure. And, so any grade I had that was less than that intended goal, no matter how good it was, to me, was a carry over. The power of mindset! First semester 200 level results came out, and by the grace of God, I  met the goal! If I had seen those lesser grades, even though they were great and good enough, I  would have settled for less, underutilized my potentials, and concluded that it was impossible to reach the goal.

Unfortunately, that's the case of many students today. They believe that it is impossible for them to reach a certain height academically, and they have programmed their mind to think that anyone who attains such a height is just lucky. Oh what a mediocre mindset! If only you know how drastically your grades can be skyrocketed if you will believe in that seemingly impossible grade, and work towards it.Your belief system matters so much in determining the destiny of your life. The only set of people who believe that success is a matter of luck are the failures. You see, when you have not gotten to a particular height, you will see all those who have gotten there as only being lucky. For instance, if you are yet to hit a 5.0 as a student, you tend to believe that those who hit were just lucky.  No, they were not necessarily lucky. Ask any first class student in school, and he will tell you his first class mindset, coupled with his first class investment that resulted into his first class attainment. There is power in your mindset.

 There are different belief systems, philosophies and ideologies in this world, and they all have the power to influence our lives. Whatever mindset you sustain as a result of a particular belief or philosophy determines what happens in your life. There is no question about the fact that there are powers (wicked and good) in our world — power beyond human’s ability. These powers seek to gain control of our lives in one way or the other. If you think what makes an alcohol addict to be so much addicted to alcohol such that he/she might likely go green — fall sick — if he/she doesn’t take it is just an uncontrollable appetite for alcohol, you might find out that you are wrong. Yes, it might start with an uncontrollable appetite for alcohol but as he/she gets consistent, powers beyond his control will set in, and once they are able to gain control of the mind, they can wield their influences on the drinker's mind.

You know at times, when some superstitious statement are made, we are quick to be like "this is superstition jare". But, I hope you know that these were the same statements that constituted the philosophy, ideology and belief system of people in the olden days? And, I hope you know those things would never have come to become part of their philosophy if they were not actually working? They were working because those belief systems were not just mere beliefs; they actually had power over their lives. For some of us, what we are today is nothing but a product of our belief system.

The set of beliefs you inculcate into your mind determines the kind of person you eventually become. Many of us were raised up in such an environment that makes us think that success is for the exceptional or the highly gifted people, and unfortunately this has been the bed rock upon which our lives are built. Sadly, this has limited our potentials and hindered us from fulfilling our purpose.

However, there’s a particular mindset you can consciously sustain that will make you not only victorious but also a wonder to your world. The best way to know how a product is meant to function is to go back to the manufacturer or check through the instructions manual. God is the source and the sustainer of all things. He is the creator of the universe. Our existence is a product of his creative power. So, you don’t just exist; there’s a God that created you, and sent you to this world for a definite purpose. For you to live a victorious life, there’s need then for you to go back to God, and learn his ways - get to understand his own philosophy.

This God has through his Holy Prophets and Apostles made his ways, intentions and thoughts known to us in the Holy Scriptures commonly referred to as the bible. The Bible therefore is not a religious book used by the “Christians”. No; it is a compendium of God’s thoughts, plans, purposes and intentions for all mankind. If we must therefore live successfully in this world, we must subscribe to the ideologies of God contained in his word so that we can sustain the right kind of mindset. The Word of God is God’s agent of transformation. He wants us to let his word become our mindset. The word of God is powerful. When you subscribe to the word of God, and you allow it to be inculcated into your mind you will be a wonder to your world.

In an account of the life of the children of Israel documented in the book of Joshua, it was said of a man called Joshua — the second leader of the nation after Moses — that God told him to ensure that the book of the law (the word of God) didn’t depart from his mouth, and that he had to be meditating in it day and night, and by so doing his way would be made prosperous, and he would have good success. Joshua had just been appointed by Moses, the former  and the foremost leader of the Israelite, to lead the Israelite to their promised land of Canaan. Joshua however didn’t know how to successfully go about this new leadership position. He had been given a mandate — to lead the people to the promised land. But, how would he succeed in this? God then told him to daily meditate in his word. We need to understand that the purpose of the meditation was not to cram the scriptures or memorize them. No; it was to change his mindset, so that he could think line with God.

God, having known that his success as a leader was dependent on him sustaining, not just the right mindset, but the God mindset, then recommended that he made the book of the law (which is the word of God) his food day and night. Joshua, in obedience to the instruction eventually succeeded greatly, as he was able to lead the Israelite to the promised land.

I want you to know my dear reader that God has a plan for your life. He has a good purpose for your existence but until you possess the right mindset, you may not walk in those beautiful plans of his for your life. I therefore recommend to you today, the greatest agent of transformation — the word of God. The uniqueness in the word of God is that, when your mindset is predicated on it you will operate in the class of God, and you will fulfill his plans for your life. Subscribe to its philosophy, walk in its precepts, and obey its instruction. Then, you will make your way prosperous, and you will have good success.

God bless you.