The Power of Our Mind

The Power of Our Mind dan skognes motivation blogger speaker teacher trainer coach educatorAn ancient proverb says: As a man thinketh in his heart…so is he. That is pretty deep to comprehend, but what we think gives birth to who we are. That is why it is so important to take every thought captive. “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Henry Ford. Obviously this does not apply to the absurd. You might think you can fly off the edge of a mountain, but you better have a parachute, plane, or bird suit if you expect to survive.

Our brains are the most powerful computers ever made. They work non-stop computing, figuring out things, and helping us live our daily lives. It is pretty amazing when you think about what the brain can do!  If only we would USE it properly. OK, you want to me to burst your bubble? There is a myth that we only use 10% of our brain’s capacity. According to the Scientific American, that is hogwash (as we say here in Texas).

“It turns out though, that we use virtually every part of the brain, and that most of the brain is active almost all the time,” Gordon adds. “Let’s put it this way: the brain represents three percent of the body’s weight and uses 20 percent of the body’s energy.”

So if that is true, then why do some people seem to be so smart and some so lacking? That is a complex question, and I don’t claim to have all the answers, but here is what I do know about the brain:

  • Some folks think quickly and others more methodically. The ones that think quickly may appear smarter, but they also can be more impulsive and prone to make poor decisions because they don’t think things through.
  • Some folks can be quite intelligent and yet lack common sense. They make decisions that are illogical as a result and thus appear to be ignorant…despite having a high IQ.
  • Some folks have bought in to the lies spoken over them and come to believe they are less than they really are. That is a tragedy that they have come to believe they are somehow flawed because someone else said they were.

The mind is a wonderful thing when used for good, and tragic when it is wasted. This is one reason I hate drug and alcohol abuse. It robs people of their mental capacity. One of the things I love about teaching kids is this: If I can help them think deep and wide, then they have the opportunity to do things that they might otherwise think impossible. As the story of the little train suggests…..”I think I can, I think I can…..I knew I could…I knew I could.” What we think matters. Our mind is what separates us from all other forms of creation. Every one of us can change the world. How awesome is that?

I want to end with a poem that sums it up nicely:

“If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don’t,
If you like to win, but you think you can’t
It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!”

― 
Walter D. Wintle

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

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