Putting Your Mind To It

"You can do anything if you put your mind to it."

-- Your mother

How many times have you heard this as a kid growing up?

How many times have you said it to someone yourself?

"Just put your mind to it." Words of wisdom that have survived the ages, but what does it mean exactly? I wonder if anyone has ever responded, " Oh, yeah, thanks. I forgot to put my mind to it. Now I can get 'er done!"

I repeat: the question is, what does that mean exactly? Is it the same thing a "making up your mind to do something"?

Well , where I come from, the expression "make up your mind" has the connotation of making a choice such as between doing something... or not. On the other hand, putting your mind to a task is a friendlier way of saying "You have to be applying your mind to accomplish that." One could even say that both steps are required to accomplish something mindfully.

Step 1. Make up your mind you are going to accomplish something.

Step 2. Apply your mind to the task.


Step 1 is easy. "Yep, I am going to do it, by golly."

Step 2, not so easy. Why?  My guess is that most people stop right there without giving it another thought. Yes! thought. You knew that's what this is all about, right?

Let's ask this question: What does the mind do? Now whether this is scientifically correct or even spiritually correct, let's separate these two things: a.) brain; b.) mind. For brain I am referring to the functions of the brain that control our bodies without the slightest conscious effort from us such as our lungs breathing and our heart beating. For the mind I am referring to the conscious effort of ... (have you thought of it yet?)  thinking! Yes indeed. Putting your mind to it means you have to think about it.

So to accomplish something mindfully you have to think about it. That makes sense doesn't it?  I mean now that you think of it? ha ha.

This kind of effort does not mean turning off the TV, climbing into bed and trying to accomplish some serious thinking while your mind is trying to shut down for the day. In a lot of cases the thinking needs to evolve into one or more mindful planning sessions. Start with answering in your own mind "What is the problem here anyway? What do I want or need to accomplish?" Think hard about all the things that could be contributing to the problem or preventing you from reaching your goal. The answer may lie in solving one simple thing you had not even considered before. Getting a grip on the problem and its causes is key to arriving at a solution.

Be in a quiet place when doing this. Keep your eyes open, and stare at nothing in particular, maybe a blank spot on the wall. (No, not the ceiling. You are trying to stay awake, remember?).  After some focused thought, if nothing "comes to mind", ask for help. Without addressing your request to any one or any thing in particular, think (out loud if you want to) "I need some help here. I am seeking a solution." Then give it a rest and come back to it the next day.

Another word of advice is to avoid being too specific about the solution you are seeking. The best example of focusing on a specific outcome that I can think of is a person who is having trouble financially devoting all their thoughts to winning a big lottery. First of all you can't win if you don't buy a ticket so if you are strapped for money why waste it?  Second of all being really mindful about winning the lottery does not seem to improve the odds. At least it hasn't worked form me.

Thinking about getting rich when you are poor is probably one of the most common daydreams there is, but your subconscious mind knows when a specific wish is not likely to come true. There are valid approaches that are much more likely to produce positive results than to wish for the near impossible. By the way, your mind also knows when you are lying to yourself, but more on that in a later post. 

A more positive approach to getting results in cases of want is to think about how grateful you are for what you already have. I realize this is a huge generalization and over-simplifies the process. But it is a big first step toward grasping the concept of reversing a negative trend in your life by reversing the way you have been thinking about it. This goes for your health, your job, your relationships, your creativity, your performance in sports, and the list goes on. All of these things are influenced by your mind.