I want to drop a simple truth on you this morning…
What you nourish will flourish, period.
Period. Period. Period.
You Will Have What You Hold in Your Mind
Your mind is like a garden full of fertile soil. Your thoughts are the seeds that grow and produce a manifestation (or an end result) in the physical realm. It really is as simple as that.
The thoughts we choose to hold in our mind end up being the story of our lives.
Don’t believe it?
Just think about vision boards. Maybe you’ve never heard of a vision board, so here’s a brief explanation.
Most goal achievers take posterboard or a notebook and they create a page with a collage of all the things they want in their lives. They might list these things and write descriptions, and they might even cut out pictures from a magazine or an advertisement to represent their vision.
A vision board could have things on it like:
- A happy love relationship or marriage
- A beautiful house on the water
- A happy family
- A loyal dog who is their best friend
- A rewarding career that is meaningful and helpful to others
Generally, a person who has a vision board with goals will give themselves a time limit. They will put a “manifestation date” on their dream. They say a goal is a dream with a due date, and I believe that. A due date helps remind you to keep working on, nurturing and dreaming about your goal.
For me, my goal was to become a writer. After that goal was achieved, I realized I wasn’t really fulfilling my true desire because I was ghostwriting for others while my own projects were sitting dormant. So, while remaining thankful for the writing I was doing for others, I got more specific and I wrote out the goal of publishing my own book. In my mind this book would be helpful to hundreds of thousands of people and it would provide me with enough of an income so that I could buy a recovery residence to help women in transition. I wrote my vision out and I actually wrote out a check to myself for $500,000, enough money to buy a recovery house and a house for myself (I’m currently living in a very nice, resort-like villa on a lake, but I want to have a house with a porch and a yard for my grandson and for my family to gather during the holidays).
Not too long after writing out this goal, I did publish my first book. It’s an important guide to “at home opiate detox” and has received absolutely rave reviews from leaders and influential people in the recovery community. It helps anyone who wants to cold-turkey detox with insights and raw testimonies from people who have been through this hell and come out the other side. It’s totally practical because it provides timelines and shopping lists, and professional information that explains what a person is going through physically, mentally and spiritually when they detox from opiates.
If you’re interested in it, you can purchase it on Amazon here: Opiate Detox, What Will I Go Through and How Long Will It Last?
Is that the only book I will write? No! I have three others in the works right now! But, do you see how my goals are slowly coming to pass? The things I’m holding in my mind and believing for are unfolding and becoming my reality.
Now for the Flip Side
Okay, so that’s all fine and pretty. Now you know a little more about how goals work. Almost every CEO and leader writes out their goals in this manner so they can keep them in the forefront of their mind and meditate on them.
And, now for a newsflash.
The same is true on the flip side.
If you are constantly thinking about relapse, or your depression (and calling it YOUR depression, which is a term of ownership) or thinking about “your” anxiety and looking up articles and finding quotes that explain and talk about how you feel and how you’re paralyzed…guess what you’re doing?
Mentally, you’re making a vision board full of images and goals. You’re nurturing and focusing on all this negative junk that you actually DON’T want in your life, but you’re drawing all of this to you like a magnet. Remember, what you hold in your mind…what you set your thoughts on…that’s what grows. It’s a reverse vision board and everything you’re thinking about will definitely continue to gain strength and manifest in all kinds of ways.
I know people who are obsessed with the occult and with dark, frightening things. They are always nurturing the darkness and fixing their thoughts on these things. The objects they buy, their art, their clothing…it all reflects negativity, and they suffer from anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts but don’t make the connection. Whatever you’re putting out in the universe is exactly what you’re going to get back.
Does Your Pee Smell Like Asparagus?
I’m a recovery advocate and love to help people break free from addiction. Sometimes I write articles about drug use and as a result, I find myself scouring the drug forums and online underground resources to find information. One day I was reading a forum where people were describing what their first time shooting heroin felt like. As I got deeper into reading these first hand accounts, some of them were extremely enticing. After a couple of hours the light bulb went on and I realized that if I kept filling my mind with all of this, I would likely end up using heroin. That’s just the way we all are wired.
Have you ever eaten asparagus? It goes through your body and it makes your pee smell weird.
Now, asparagus is not bad for me but if I don’t want my pee to smell weird, all I have to do is stop eating asparagus.
It’s as simple as that. What I put in is going to come out.
It’s the same with anything we put in our mind, either by looking at it, listening to it, or talking about it.
So, Robin, you’re saying I should shut my eyes when I walk down the road or shut my ears all day? We live in a world full of weird stuff. Should we hide in a hole?
Yes, that’s EXACTLY what I’m saying….
Come on. You know better.
But here’s an idea.
[Tweet “Think about what kind of return you’re getting on your current mental investments. Are you happy?”]
Are they producing the life story you want to live in the physical realm?
No, we can’t shield ourselves from everything negative in the world, but I will tell you this; I don’t intentionally watch or participate in anything that’s going to pollute me and put me in an “off” state of mind. When I do (like when I was researching heroin use for too long) I quickly realize it and turn my focus on positive things.
I don’t sit around talking about fears or anxiety. I don’t gossip about people. You won’t hear me saying that I don’t know how to do something or that I have no idea how things will work out for me.
Why?
Because I don’t give negativity any power.
My Bible tells me I have the mind of Christ and I know all things. God promises to give me wisdom and equip me for everything. He says He will keep me in perfect peace. If my emotions don’t line up with these promises, I just remind myself of all the good in my life and I tell myself, “You are equipped! You can do it!” Sometimes I have to turn to a friend who will tell me, “Straighten up! You can do hard ass things! You are a warrior!” But I sure don’t turn to people who will say, “Yea…I know. Poor baby. It’s so terrible.”
I refuse to nurture negativity and you should too!
[Tweet “What you nourish will flourish…good or bad. The choice is yours!”]
