Changing the way you think

Did you know that every minute of every day is an opportunity to reinvent yourself? That is one of the most exciting things about life. You do not have to be the same person your whole life. You can choose from so much. The most obvious choice would be to try and improve your circumstances if you are not in a good place at a particular time in your life. But it can be as simple as changing from not liking Marmite to deciding to have it on toast for breakfast every day. Or telling yourself firmly that you actually have no fear of spiders and are not going to let them bother you any more. Your mind is your most powerful tool, because no-one else can control it for you, unless you allow them to. And that is where the problem lies...

We allow too many outside influences to dictate how and what we should think. This causes anxiety in areas such as what we look like, what we sound like, what clothes we wear, what car we drive, our behaviour and our social standing. Advertising is a powerful force in moulding our thoughts in the direction desired by the producers of the items being manufactured, and it is only our fear of being thought inferior to our peers that keeps us in tow.

The only way to control your own mind is to form your own opinion on the events and experiences that shape your life, rather than reacting in the way you have been taught. An example would be the binpickers that we loathe so much - why do we? Is it because we regard even the rubbish we throw away as "ours" in this proprietorial society we have created? Or is it because of an inner fear that, but for circumstances that have weighed in our favour, it could be us digging through the trash? Or is it revulsion at the thought of someone actually eating off the remains of the Sunday roast? I know it is for me.

So I have decided not to loathe the binpickers, and put out food that we could still eat without acquiring botulism, in clean packaging on top of the bin. Perhaps they will learn to trust us and know that they don't need to open the bin because there won't be anything edible inside and that will solve a few problems. And wouldn't it be nice to have done something even so small for another human being, rather than wait for the 'season of goodwill'?

It only requires a change in the way you think.