February Challenge - Capture The Critic

*Note: this is not a political endorsement, it's a controversial topic turned analogy.

Ever notice the things we'd never say to others, we tell ourselves all the time?

It needs to stop and now. We need to enforce an immediate ban on all inner critics!

But how do we stop it? Do we build a 10 ft wall topped with razor wire all along the parameter, refusing to allow anything in?

I say that answer is not good enough! The thoughts will just come back like boomerangs, with friends, and ladders, ... or tunnels.

There is only so much wall you can build. If you ever watched World War Z, You know what I mean.

What's more. Locked down, impenetrable walls also keep out the good. When struggling with hordes of enemies, last thing you need is a ban on positive reinforcement.

Option 2

So what? Do you drop all ideas of walls and have an open border? Do you allow thought in and out with freedom? That's one good way to secure a flow of positive mental reinforcements. Or is it?

And what about the terroristic enemies of the mind? There's a reason why China built the great wall.

There's dragons out there hungry to consume you.

... So what do you do? Neither side is appealing for a safe, secure border of the mind.

Option 3

You can create a mental border patrol. You can be mindful of the thoughts which try to cross over into the sovereign soil of your brain. You can set up checkpoints where you can check the origin of the thoughts.

Because some thoughts aren't originated from with in. And not all external thoughts are there to better you. Some are there to break down and destroy you.

But what else is some enemy thoughts originate from within. Thoughts from your inner critic. The domestic terrorist of the mind.

The good news is you can establish your mental border patrol where ever you wish. You can have checkpoints middle of 'the Nebraska of your mind', checking the origin and intent of each thought.

Catch And Release

The things is like I said before, turning those thoughts away isn't a great long term strategy. Catch and release is a dangerous game to play with your mind.

Those terrorizing thought which paralyze you from action do come back and with reinforcements.

The good new is you can capture those thoughts. Lock them into a dungeon. Interrogate them. Find out where they came from. Counter their strategy, and prevail over them. And it's not that hard.

All you have to do is ask whether it's there to build me up or to break me down.

When your inner critic tells you you're not strong enough to resist that donut. Lock it up. Interrogate it. Find out where that thought came from. It doesn't build you up. It doesn't server to advance you.

Painful Example

When someone, say a step father, says you'll never get though boot camp. Lock that thought up. It doesn't build you up. Throw that thought in the dungeon and smash that key.

You can do it. You can rise above. Don't let that thought chain you down for the next ten years.

Don't allow it to preside over you post graduation when you did better than you ever imagined. Don't let the words infect your confidence to where you start self sabotaging.

Don't be lucky you got out with an honorable discharge, thank you God for that grace it wasn't deserved.

Welcome to my 20s. I wish someone preached that to me 15 years ago.

Breaking The Cycle

Just because someone tell you something. Even if it's someone you love and admire. it doesn't mean every word they say is there to help. Terrorists can come from allies.

I know more than once I sent a terroristic words into the ears of my loved ones. It wasn't intentional, it wasn't on purpose but it happened. That's one way I can forgive my step father because I've done it too.

I'm thankful I'm mindful now and send positive reinforcement into the ears on my allies. It's intentional and perpetual.

Because I know how it feels, thinking the world is against you.

I know how it feels needing those words of positivity. That's why I strive i breathe life into others. I remember clear when I thought my own life was dead, barren, lifeless... Full of terror, surrounded by enemies. I had no chance. But yet I did.

Wow, what a derail from my original thought.

Thoughts

We don't need an impenetrable wall. That blocks the life we can receive from others.

But we also need barriers to block the bad.

And we need security at the gaps checking origin and intention. Not just that but whether the though helps.

Because good intentioned words still can break us down. And bad intentioned words can build us up. It's weird. But it is what it is.

We need to know whether the words we hear help. If they do, embrace them, have them over for dinner. Write them down in a book so you can call upon in at a moments time.

But we need to know what words break us down. Then we can shut them down, and lock them away. That way they can't come back, like boomerangs, with reinforcements, and ladders... or tunnels.

And sure, some will still get through. You aren't perfect. None are. But catching 1 out of 10 is better than 0 out of 10. It's a start. Once you got one, aim for 2 out of 10. Then on.

Eventually you might get to 9 out of 10. Sure, 10% may still get through... But by then you're playing on a whole other level. By then, you're a superpower of positivity. Breathe life to others.

Challenge

Establish a Border Patrol for your Mind.

Capture some inner critics. Lock up some thought Terrorists. Stop the sanctuary cities that house perpetual depression.

Call upon some allies to render aid. Positive words of life to refresh your soul. Bring in the National Guard of the Mind to bring relief and rest to your anxieties.