Develop

Our subconscious mind stores data, retrieves it, and passes it to the conscious. As the basis of our attitudes, it has the potential of a double-edged sword. It can be our worst foe and cripple our personality with its debilitating attitudes. But it can also be our foremost benefactor and provide inner strength through never-say-die positive emotions. The problem is that the subconscious can only create sentiments and feelings, but it cannot reason logically. And that is why it gets us into trouble with illogical fears, likes, and dislikes. If we wish to make the subconscious our friend and partner in life, we must be extremely careful of the inputs we consciously pass to it. The intellect and the conscious mind must train the subconscious and diligently seed it with positive assertions.

For instance, if we wish to programme our subconscious with positivity, we need to consciously seed it with positive ideas, while ensuring it is not contaminated it with negative thoughts.

Master

The gap between knowledge and its practice must always be bridged by ‘discipline.’ In reality, lack of self-control is akin to a mental disease that makes us feeble and irresolute. When we see this weakness within, we must make it a priority to stamp it out.

We develop self-discipline by exercising it, in much the same way as we build our muscles. Every time we follow through on a resolution, we liberate the force of willpower within. But each time we break our resolve not to indulge in sense pleasures, the muscle of self-control becomes emaciated.

In this way, small moment-to-moment victories lead to larger successes. The more we exert our willpower, the greater it grows. But if we neglect it, our self-discipline will dwindle and wither away, like unused muscles in the body. When we see people with masterly qualities and stellar character, we wonder how they reached there. Well, it was all a matter of exerting their willpower for some time, until the new habit kicked in.