If you happen to stay around me, one of the things you will notice is my drive for success. I pride myself as a workaholic. It feels good in the short time exerting pressure on myself to perform.
My desire and drive stem from both a place of strength and insecurity. There is the pressure to be better which I totally enjoy and also, there is the pressure of not being good enough or doing enough. The latter drives me straight to the ground.
Two days ago, I was in a friend's car. It is a $32k automobile and that's a lot of money. I came down from his vehicle and suddenly I began to have a stream of negative thoughts. I felt I was not doing well enough because I did not have a car.
But wait!
'Do you need a car?' This was the first question I asked my inner critic and the answer was no. Then I asked myself, "so why are you sad for not having one?" And all of sudden my inner critic looked stupid. I had won the battle of my mind that evening.
WHERE DO THOUGHTS COME FROM?
There is no direct and perfect answer to this question. The best I can come up with is that we feed off energy/information from our environment which is processed in thoughts. In other words, your ability to process what you see, hear and feel is through your thoughts.
Given the explanation above, one can deduce that thoughts, although personal, are from an external source. This is why Stephen King opines that creative writing can't be taught, rather one needs to be in tune with the external to have access to creative materials.
MIND-CONTROL
This has a negative connotation but in this context, it means having the ability to filter random thoughts and identify what you read. This for me entails asking yourself valid questions every day.
As I have noticed most of us are stuck chasing other people's dreams unconsciously. We are driven by likes and trends. There is the constant pressure to be what you don't want to be.
Now, I am not implying that you live in your bubble. What I am saying in essence is that we need to make that conscious effort to filter through our thoughts and make sure we bring to fruition those things that would add value to our lives and that of the people around us.
This is my message for the day: take control of your mind. Fight depression and anxiety with simple and objective questions. Most times the pressure to perform is inconsequential to our growth and overall happiness.
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