The thoughts and solutions of crazy people

Do you talk to yourself? Of course you don't. Only scary, crazy homeless people do that. Or probably more accurately, of course you do, you just don't admit it because you don't want people to think you are one of  "those" people.

But have you ever had this problem that you really were struggling to come up with a solution for? Or something that you were just having trouble coming to terms with? What do we do when that happens? When we get lost we tend to look to others for a solution.

So we take some trusted person, be it lover, friend or family member and set aside some time to talk. The other person is all nervous because they are worried about you and what this problem is that you can't solve (but haven't told them anything about up until this point). They aren't even sure that they will be able to help you.

So the conversation begins. You outline the problem, explaining exactly why it is an issue, who it creates hardship for and all of the negative things associated with it. You go into detail about how long this has been going on and what will happen if the problem isn't fixed.

The other person listens for a few minutes, formulates their own opinions and prepares to give you advice. But every time they open up their mouths to speak you rush on with more about the situation, eventually explaining all the possible choices. You weigh the pros and cons of each solution, where they work and where they fail, making the cases both for and against, as if you were defendant and prosecutor all at once. After a very lengthy monologue, you decide what the best possible solution is and resolve to go with that method.

Then what happens?  You thank your confidante for their assistance, promise to talk again soon and send the very flabbergasted and confused person on their way.

They thought they were coming to your aid. They believed the purpose of their visit was to help you solve a problem that you did not see a solution to. And it was. And they did.Sort of.

The other person is just a tool. A sounding board if you will. They aren't really necessary in this process, as long as you are willing to talk to yourself. Out loud. You don't have to do it while wearing rags and in the middle of the street. It could be a fun exercise though :)

See what most people don't realize is that they don't want advice. What they really want is to hear their own thoughts, out loud. What a person thinks may sound perfectly reasonable in ones own head, but when said out loud it suddenly becomes clear that one option is better than all the others.

Don't take this the wrong way. We do need other people in our lives and there is nothing wrong with sharing our experiences with them. And if we truly can not solve our own problems asking others for advice is a great idea. But, we seldom really need the help. Most of the time we have all the information that we need to solve nearly any problem that comes up We just need to be able to sort out our thoughts and prioritize them until the solution rises to the top of the pile of options.

Simple programming for your mind

My writing from yesterday got me thinking about the awesome power of the mind.

When a mind is closed no new opportunities can arrive. Solutions to problems can not be thought up and nor can they be enacted. When you are close minded thoughts that are not in agreement with yours are automatically wrong. All barriers and obstacles are completely impenetrable. No new growth is possible.

When a mind is open opportunities arrive all the time. Solutions to problems show up by the truckload. When you are open minded thoughts that are not in agreement with yours open the door to new ways of thinking, allowing for new thoughts and beliefs. With an open mind you have the power and the inclination to test what others say and if they be true to add them to your store of knowledge. And even if they are not true they may lead you to the discovery of new truths. Challenges that were previously impossible shrink or even disappear completely before the open mind.

Also, take a few moments and think on this. Close minded people are automatically more negative people with less happiness in their lives. Open minded people are automatically more positive people with more happiness in their lives.  Close-mindedness goes hand in hand with negativity, anger, depression, sorrow,worry and a life filled with difficult problems. Conversely open-mindedness brings with it positivity, joy, happiness,freedom from worry and doubt and the knowledge that no matter what life throws at you, you can handle it. Think about all the people you know whose lives are working for them. They are open minded people are they not? Now think of all the others you know. They are generally close minded people aren't they?

If you had the choice, which would you choose to be? Open minded no doubt. Well, that's the beauty of it. You do have a choice. Having an open or a closed mind is a conscious choice that you can and should make if you want the power to make your life work for you. And it does not matter how long you have been choosing close-mindedness. You can make a new choice at any time.

Open your mind to new possibilities, to opportunities, to solutions, to new better ways of doing things. Give up the old ways that are not working for you. Each and every time new data is presented to you, give it a chance. Stop automatically discarding it. Accept what other say as possible, even if it directly conflicts with what you already believe. Take the time to test out the new data using all of the tools at your disposal. Search for evidence that it is true, more strongly than you search for falsehood.
But seek both. For a person can always find ways to disprove a theory, even one that is true.

It may turn out that in the search for truth, your original belief was wrong. The new data may be wrong. Or both. But, new growth and opportunities to better yourself will automatically occur as a result, if you search for the truth with an open mind.