Turning the Ignition (Mind Games part Two) – Comfort James
"Glory not in what you think you know when it hasn't been harnessed properly" – Anonymous
Turning the ignition can be pictured as using a key to start an automobile, of which the one in the driver's seat is you, and the automobile - your mind. It however doesn’t end there as there is a system involved in the process thus:
The key represents the “intention” before doing what has to be done. The inner witness is your conscience, it tells you what is right and what is wrong. The state of peace in knowing your chosen course of action is right confirms the recognition of the inner witness. So the moment you’re able to recognize the inner witness, the role it plays at every point in time in your life, what comes after is your response.
Emotions: a strong feeling (such as love, anger, joy, hate, or fear) - Merriam Webster
So many people are ruled by their emotions; this shouldn't be the case. Emotions are not bad; in short, they are part of what it means to be human...
Exercise:
Imagine you’re in a tunnel, a dark tunnel. It’s scary being in there, you’re trying to get to the other side of the tunnel; there’s light there, it’s very bright. And as you move closer to the light, do a countdown from Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two and One. Now you’re here, you made it! Congratulations.
The above exercise is a test of focus. You need to watch out for the involvement of the head especially when it seem like your emotions are running wild. There is “the heart” and what it says and there is “the head” and what it says. You may also have heard at different times that “what the heart says is always the right thing”. This is not an avenue to say that what the head says is typically wrong. The lawyer said in one of his letters in scriptures: “… I will pray with my spirit and pray in my understanding also…” (1 Corinthians 14:15). This is similar to having these two elements in place and functioning as expected. In other words, while you’re working based on the direction of your heart, don’t shut the head out entirely. We are given the freedom of choice. Still we are urged to make the right choices – follow life.
Want is temporal and Need is permanent. The early economists recognized that human wants are insatiable and the trend remained ever since. In essence, the focus should be on “need”.
I remember playing a game some time ago, I excelled at some stages till I got to a particular stage that made me question if it was worth the sweat of trying over and over again. I decided to press just about anything on the keypad; I was tired and I just wanted the game to be over. To my surprise, I passed the stage; then I thought to myself, perhaps the strategy was to press anything on the keypad; there was no need to concentrate on whether the right or wrong steps were taken in the game.
Once I had my eyes fixed on the TV screen while pressing whatever on the keypad, I was bound to win/pass the stage in question. The shocker came when I applied the same strategy in the stage that followed and behold, it was a big bold flop. Since then, I learned the lesson that every game has a rule so whether applying the principles results in losing or not, the right thing(s) must be done.
Before you can turn the ignition, the key has to be in your possession. When you’re about to make a decision of which you don’t know the outcome, the systems involved in the process of turning the ignition is a good place to start. You may want to yield to your emotions especially in a situation where the decision has a form of sensitivity, still the application of the systems will be a sure guide.