As your day goes on, these thoughts creep into your mind; anger, guilt. It plagues your mind and becomes all you can think about. Soon, all your actions and reactions are due to these deep down feelings that have not yet been addressed. These negative feelings are not only hurting your emotional state, but more importantly taking up free real estate in your mind! The number one rule in real estate- do not give up free land! Your mind is yours and yours alone. You control your thoughts. You control what comes in and what stays out. The question that everyone asks me is, how? How do I rid myself of negative thoughts?
“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it” ~J.M Barrie
You must first tell yourself that is possible to rid yourself of these thoughts. You must tell yourself that it is possible to be that optimistic person you see who seems to attract all good things. Telling yourself you can, is the first step. The second step involves one key which allow you to let go of the negativity, the anger and all the feelings that come along with that mindset. Some of you may think, this is easier said than done. But there is a secret key to this, and that is your ego.
Once you are able to let go of your ego, all of those damaging thoughts go along with it. Letting go of ego has different meanings to different people. For some it is forgiveness. It is putting aside the stubborn ego, quieting him down and saying I forgive that person. In other cases it might be as simple as apologizing first, before the other person. How many times have you thought to yourself, Oh I will apologize but I am not saying it first! What do you lose if you say it first? When you lead with love, you will only ever receive love in return. I urge you to admit that you are wrong, apologize; once you do you will free up all this space in your mind. Space that you can then fill with wonderful, magical things like ambitions and goals. You will feel lighter and happier. Ask yourself next time you feel anger rising, is this my ego that is upset? If the answer seems to be yes, ask yourself how you would react if your ego was not involved. Preserving your ego is sometimes the cause of larger problems which can surely be avoided, with practising self-awareness.
I am going to tell you all a story. There once was an island where all the feelings lived together. One day there came a storm in the sea and the island was about to sink. Every feeling was scared but Love made a boat to escape. All of the feelings jumped in the boat one by one; happiness, empathy, kindness. All of the feelings jumped in the boat, but one feeling remained on the island. Love came out of the boat to see who did not board the boat. It was Ego. Ego refused to move. Love tried and tried but it was to no avail. All of the other feelings asked Love to leave Ego and save herself, but Love is only meant to Love. And so Love stayed back with Ego. All of the feelings survived, but Love died because of Ego.
When we allow our ego to rule our minds, it in turns kills all of the love and light inside of us. It can also ruin your relationships. I learn from my mom every day but there is one lesson in particular I want to share with you:
Do not lose your loved ones because of your ego, rather lose your ego because of your loved ones.
Make your decisions with a mind that is filled with nothing but love. As you go about your day today and you go through your week, I encourage you to lead with love.