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The Beginning of True Self-Mastery
- By James Andrews
- Published 11/2/2008
- Personal Accountability , Inspiration and Motivation
- Unrated
James Andrews
Jim Andrews is the author of the MindTech Principles describing the 12 principles and 6 stages of personal transformation. A New Law of Attraction based on the 12 principles will surprise you with its unique perspective on how we really create what we want. Visit http://www.MindTechPrinciples.com
View all articles by James Andrews
To the extent that you create and control your own thoughts you are the Master of your own life.
First, my experience is that there is disagreement and confusion over what the meaning of self-control is, and whether it is really my responsibility to control myself in the first place. Frequently self-control is viewed as perhaps having an element of forced behavior. Self-control in our definition is a natural process of taking responsibility.
What do I mean by self-control? My definition of self-control is: “the understanding that my actions and behavior are the results of what I think, therefore I monitor and control what I think.” It's that simple.
At this point there needs to be a fundamental understanding that our behavior and actions are a result of our thinking. The counterpoint to this statement from some people is "but my behavior is sometimes dictated by circumstances beyond my control". Sometimes it would seem that this is obviously true like when somebody pulls out in front of us at the last second on a busy street and we have no choice but to crash into them. But, think a little further and possibilities start arise. What other possible conditions could have existed in order to prevent that from happening? Usually there is something. It was our choice to travel on that road that day at that time. It may also have been possible that many times in the past we've been uncomfortable driving down that road but we did not heed our discomfort or take countermeasures as a result.
This is just one example to point out the fact that who is in control isn't always obvious on the surface. There is usually a complex interaction and convergence of factors that create the circumstance that we are in. However, the bottom line is that it is me in that situation at that time. And how did I get there? It is always our choice what path to travel, what direction to turn, whether to put the next foot down on the ground and keep going in the same direction.
And here is the rub with most people; the thought that I have to control my thoughts constantly in order to control my behavior seems like a daunting and impossible task. Other times when I have discussed the subject with people I see that they do not even consider this an important or relevant topic. When I speak to some people about controlling what they think many time the reaction is in one form or another “why do I need to do that?” It is as if the thinking process just happens and we have no control.
The fact is we only need to control the big stuff, not every little thought we might have. By monitoring and modifying dominant thought patterns many other aspects of our behavior come into alignment more or less automatically.
A lot of us run around every day not even paying any attention to what we think. Every now and then we realize that yes we are thinking of something, and then it passes on to thinking about something else. Some of us are actually taught that being self-conscious is a bad thing! Think about this, what is the message we are being given here? People who have to pay attention to themselves and monitor themselves are to some degree either insecure or deficient in some way right?
If we are to control our thoughts first we have to find them. We have to realize the extent to which we are constantly thinking. To do this I created an exercise called Attention Game. Look for The Attention Game in another article, it is a very effective tool for locating your attention. Once you become used to locating your attention it becomes easier to direct your attention. Once it becomes easier to direct your attention you can then makes choices as to where you want your attention to be. This is the beginning of true self-mastery.
First, my experience is that there is disagreement and confusion over what the meaning of self-control is, and whether it is really my responsibility to control myself in the first place. Frequently self-control is viewed as perhaps having an element of forced behavior. Self-control in our definition is a natural process of taking responsibility.
What do I mean by self-control? My definition of self-control is: “the understanding that my actions and behavior are the results of what I think, therefore I monitor and control what I think.” It's that simple.
At this point there needs to be a fundamental understanding that our behavior and actions are a result of our thinking. The counterpoint to this statement from some people is "but my behavior is sometimes dictated by circumstances beyond my control". Sometimes it would seem that this is obviously true like when somebody pulls out in front of us at the last second on a busy street and we have no choice but to crash into them. But, think a little further and possibilities start arise. What other possible conditions could have existed in order to prevent that from happening? Usually there is something. It was our choice to travel on that road that day at that time. It may also have been possible that many times in the past we've been uncomfortable driving down that road but we did not heed our discomfort or take countermeasures as a result.
This is just one example to point out the fact that who is in control isn't always obvious on the surface. There is usually a complex interaction and convergence of factors that create the circumstance that we are in. However, the bottom line is that it is me in that situation at that time. And how did I get there? It is always our choice what path to travel, what direction to turn, whether to put the next foot down on the ground and keep going in the same direction.
And here is the rub with most people; the thought that I have to control my thoughts constantly in order to control my behavior seems like a daunting and impossible task. Other times when I have discussed the subject with people I see that they do not even consider this an important or relevant topic. When I speak to some people about controlling what they think many time the reaction is in one form or another “why do I need to do that?” It is as if the thinking process just happens and we have no control.
The fact is we only need to control the big stuff, not every little thought we might have. By monitoring and modifying dominant thought patterns many other aspects of our behavior come into alignment more or less automatically.
A lot of us run around every day not even paying any attention to what we think. Every now and then we realize that yes we are thinking of something, and then it passes on to thinking about something else. Some of us are actually taught that being self-conscious is a bad thing! Think about this, what is the message we are being given here? People who have to pay attention to themselves and monitor themselves are to some degree either insecure or deficient in some way right?
If we are to control our thoughts first we have to find them. We have to realize the extent to which we are constantly thinking. To do this I created an exercise called Attention Game. Look for The Attention Game in another article, it is a very effective tool for locating your attention. Once you become used to locating your attention it becomes easier to direct your attention. Once it becomes easier to direct your attention you can then makes choices as to where you want your attention to be. This is the beginning of true self-mastery.
