Tag: mental
Building Mental Strength
For many of us we hear a lot, and some of us even speak a lot, about change and revolution and encouragement and just overall maintaining a quality of life we have come to understand as a positive one. This is the reason many of us have decided to blog. We post motivating quotes, speak about our struggles, triumphs and overall how we maintain the daily grind. In return some of us hope to receive insight while others hope to spread it. It is the reason for life coaches and therapy sessions. We do these things to improve or to heal so that we can go on to implement those very important changes and become overall better people. One thing however that sticks out to me from all of this is mental strength. Building mental strength in our lives and maintaining it on a daily basis. This is not always easy but it is worth more than the physical changes we tend to seek after as we strive to implement them in our quest to do better in whatever area we need to. This is important because most of what we need to go on in life requires a certain level of mental clarity and strength to produce. Achieving this often requires work on the mind itself, ridding it of everything that acts as a negative force against positive change. It requires we empty ourselves so that we can be built back up again. Otherwise nothing we try to alter on the outside, no dream job or career, no encouraging word, will matter. It probably sounds personal and that’s because it is; building and maintaining mental stability is a personal journey for each of us as we strive to improve our lives but it is critical to the operation. It is critical because it is we who often get in our own way; it is our own thoughts and our own fears. It is critical because you are only as strong as your mind is. To change the way that you live, ultimately, is to change the way that you think.
The Bedroom
The bedroom is the most intimate place in the house. It is not a place where everyone is invited in. It is a place of intimacy. Your time spent here is very valuable; it is your place of rest and refuge. The bedroom is representative of your mind.
My sister used this as an example yesterday and it struck a cord with me as something that would make for a much needed discussion. You see, we live in the age of information. No longer is it required to read 5,000 page encyclopedias at libraries. All you have to do now is Google what you want and technology takes care of the rest. We are in a time of knowledge and information. This can be a good thing, but it can also in many ways be a dangerous thing.
Not all information is good information and not all knowledge is good knowledge. Our minds can be so easily cluttered these days with the opinions and feelings of others or distracted by something that mean nothing. Everyone is on a quest to sound more intellectual than the next person and in the end they both give birth to foolishness. Deception wraps its arms around the four corners of the bed and hides underneath beautiful plump comforters that are outlined in gold. But what does your mind really look like? What about stress? What about being so busy that you don’t have time to live? Mental clarity is essential to a person’s overall daily operation. Are you allowing the wrong people, places, and things to occupy your mind? Is all your business on Facebook?
A bedroom is not a kick it place. It is not a discussion place. A bedroom is an intimate place. A relaxing place. Are you letting everyone in? What’s going on in your place of refuge?
Today, visit your bedrooms. What’s there?
1. What am I doing right now that I can rejoice in?
2. What am I neglecting to do that I know is right?
3. What needs to be evaluated, examined, and then held onto or removed?
Remember, you can’t find rest in a crowded room.
Writing 101 – Assignment #9 – Breaks – When I’m Not Writing
I found it best to structure these assignments without introduction. It’s more engaging, I think if we just get right into it. For today’s assignment however, I suppose I can hip you to the rules. Since breaks are so important, like sleep that rejuvenates the body, we are to write about our lives when we are not writing, so here goes.
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Since I write full time I have equipped my day with a schedule to help to keep me balanced. As I mentioned in Assignment #6, I write best in the early morning. Though I do not publish a post until halfway through the morning, this doesn’t mean this is when I have begun writing. So I adjust my schedule so that my mornings are my writing time. When I’m not writing the direction of my day depends on what kind of day it is. But to keep me balanced and refreshed and to keep my mind clear there are a few things that never change from my day to day:
Biblical Study
Prayer and studying the scriptures is what keeps me refreshed and moving in the right direction so that I do not forget my purpose. As astonishing as it may be, there is something I love more than writing and that’s the word. I have to study my scriptures and keep my head clear. As one of my favorite sayings goes: “Don’t neglect the physical because you live on the physical, but do not neglect the spiritual because it is higher than the physical.” I begin every morning with a prayer before I do anything and I pray throughout the day (at least 3 times a day). This ensures my eyes are always open and my head is always clear. Mental stability and clarity is everything.
Household
Another major part of maintaining a balanced life for me when I’m not writing is managing my household. For the most part I’m a full time wife. Not that there are part time wives (who knows) but I’m a housewife to the fullest and it is something I take pride in because I happen to be good at it. Since I have the afforded luxury of working from home I see no reason not to keep a clean house. My husband’s career in Heating and Air Conditioning is very demanding so I make it my business to create an environment that keeps him happy. He’s Universally Certified which means he can work on anything for anyone and if he’s working nine, ten, eleven hours a day I see no reason for him to have to come in and do anything but rest. Of course, my husband is a very active person. He’s always finding something to do and he absolutely loves to cook so I don’t say this to say he doesn’t do anything. I say this to say that he has that option. This is his place of peace. My man’s place of residence should be nothing less than paradise.
Wine
So I went back and edited this post to include wine. Wine and Movie Nights with the Hubby is definitely a great time to relax for me. I have to wind down with a nice glass after dinner and a good laugh. Daily laughter / intimate and mind provoking conversation with my love and daily wine, it doesn’t get more refreshing than that.
Workout
I also enjoy working out which a) is a great way to renew my energy and b) something I’ve been admittedly slacking on. I suppose a trip to the gym is something I can incorporate into next week’s schedule.
Travel
Last but certainly not least is another one of my most dear past times: Traveling. My husband and I love to travel. There is something about going outside of your environment and smelling air that does not belong in your backyard that is very refreshing. Because I write full time non-writing days may still consists of things that are writing related. There are orders to fill, packages to send off, people to contact etc. For this reason, whenever I want to really break I have to exit the whole scene; I want to leave my element. A break for me is not merely a break from writing it’s a break from the city! Let’s hop in the car or on a plane and just go. If I go too long without some form of travel I’ll get agitated because I really need these breaks. Speaking of vacations, I’m looking forward to the end of the year where I’ll be leaving this city once again for a chance to explore new lands. Talk about breaks, I’m so ready for one.
Movie Night Friday – A Beautiful Mind
Good Day everyone and welcome to Movie Night Friday, where I list some of my favorite movies and why I love them. So today’s pick was actually not next on my list, but I decided it was a good time to include it since John Nash just passed.
“A Beautiful Mind” is one of my favorite movies and as the winner of four Oscars, apparently a lot of others love it too. What I didn’t know is that the movie was based on the life of the real John Forbes Nash Jr. who recently died in a car accident with his wife. Despite the movie however, there are some who say that it was not very accurate with his life and that the book was way better. For what it’s worth, even if the movie was not very accurate (movies usually aren’t exactly the same as the books they are based on because every page is money to a production company. Therefore, sometimes they have to eliminate some things and even make up some things. But since I’ve never read the book I cannot give an opinion on the matter. Needless to say the movie is good) the concepts involved are still very much profound if you understand the spiritual side of things, but I digress.
I do find that this movie is challenging to explain because it’s easy to give away the good stuff. But I will do my best to explain the plot to your interest without spoiling it for you:
Nash is an anti-social man who seems to exist in a different world, often seeing things in the form of mathematical equations and would much rather spend time solving them than socializing with people. While Nash does befriend a college roommate named Charles, instead of attending class, which he says “dulls the creative mind”, John would much rather analyze pigeons in a park with his own thoughts. A child prodigy, John Nash is a mathematical genius at Princeton University struggling to come up with his original idea. And his mind’s ability to decode numbers and letters and see formula in everyday occurrences is simply remarkable.
After graduate school, Nash begins teaching where he meets his wife Alicia who is a student of his. The turning point happens when the government asks his help with breaking Soviet codes, which soon gets him involved in a terrifying conspiracy plot. As Nash and Alicia marry, things begin to unravel for John as his world jumps from his head and into the real world. He eventually grows more and more paranoid until a shocking discovery turns his entire world upside down. Ironically, John’s mental strength is tested against the very brilliance of his mind. But there is still a beautiful thing left: Alicia. I love the portrayal of the bond between husband and wife and the way Alicia’s strength is needed to help get her husband back on track.
Trailer:
Funny Movie Mistakes:
When John’s wife is in the bathroom she drinks all of the water in a cup, but when she throws it the cup is full again.
Watch the movie and see if you can spot the knot!
“What’s your favorite movie? Why do you love it?”
Being “Grown”
I was in the Dollar Store today and the cashier was an excited 21 year old. “I’m grown“, she boasted. “I pay my own bills and don’t need for nothing.” That sparked a thought:
Don’t be in such a hurry to talk about how “grown” you are because there’s a difference between “being grown” and being an adult. Grown people are those who have reached an age level that gives them permission to buy liquor, finally get into the clubs (legally), and buy cigarettes. Grown people usually boast about paying their own bills, driving their own cars, and not having to overall depend on anyone else financially. They just moved out the house yesterday and already they’re ready for the world. Adults however are those who do not have to keep reminding everyone how grown they are. They may or may not depend on someone else financially, may or may not pay their own bills. That’s because the level of their maturity is not based on such futility, but adults are people whose mentality is beyond the mind of a child. If you are well off financially that’s great, but it is not what defines adulthood. Not throwing stones, just something to think about the next time you have to tell someone how grown you are, which in the case you have to say it, you probably aren’t.
The PBS Blog 