Book Preview: Pathways of the Mind (The Forest)
As I continue on the path of writing my next book I am constantly excited to see how it is unfolding. It will be a collection of some of the most inspiring and thought-provoking ideas that have shaped my perspective of life and personal growth on this journey entitled: Drops for Life: Ideas for Nurturing Growth! Below is a sneak peek of some of the content, and as things continue to roll along it is looking like I will be publishing at the end of this year or early into next year. I hope that you enjoy this sneak peek of one of the ideas you will find in the book:
Thoughts are pathways that we walk within our minds, like paths through a forest. Whenever we think a thought we walk that path, and those paths that we walk most often become wider and easier to walk again in the future. In this way we create habits of thought.
As I began to become more aware of the types of paths that I was walking in my mind, I saw that I frequently walked a path of self-criticism. Somehow thoughts of not being good enough and of being unworthy had become default paths that I had paved in my mind.
But just because a thinking pattern may be habitual or automatic does not mean that we can’t change it. I knew that I wanted to think thoughts that lifted me up and made me feel good rather than bring me down. I needed to create new pathways.
It isn’t easy at times to change the thoughts that we think. In essence we have to forge our way through the forest, clearing out foliage and moving aside rocks and debris to make room for new pathways, new patterns.
The first few times that I tried to walk a path of self-love it felt a little like having to walk through dense forest, getting cobwebs in my face as I tried to follow a trail that barely existed. In truth it felt inauthentic to think loving thoughts at first. The words “I love you” felt a like a lie to my own ears. I quickly learned that switching from self-criticism to self-love isn’t like flicking a switch. It took consistency to create and widen this new path that I preferred.
It was largely a matter of repetition, of telling myself often that I loved myself and was proud. It was about beginning to recognize all of the good within me rather than continuing to criticize my perceived faults. I was persistent, consistently choosing to walk and pave the path of self-love and this has now become my default path.
That old pathway of self-criticism still exists, yet it is now largely unused, quickly becoming overgrown with new life and reclaimed by the forest.