Mind Control: How to Take Charge of Your Thoughts and Feelings

Do you have racing thoughts? No matter what you do, the negative thoughts just won’t leave? This can be very overwhelming and stressful when you feel like you don’t have control over your mind. There are many people who feel this way. 

The phrase “mind control” has gotten a bad rep. When most people think of mind control, they think of the movies or television shows where someone is being hypnotized and instructed to do things against their will. In this post, that’s not what we are talking about here. We are talking about how to take charge of your mind so you can reach mental self-mastery. It’s not about manipulation. It’s about you controlling your thoughts and emotions.

In this post, we will discuss techniques on how to control your mind and thoughts naturally without having to go to a hypnotist. These are techniques that anyone can do, and you can literally start them today. 

In our mind, we have two main parts: the conscious and the subconscious mind. The conscious mind is the part of the mind that we are aware of and shapes our logical thinking and decision-making. It makes decisions like what we want to eat for breakfast and decisions on our finances, etc. 

On the other hand, our subconscious mind is the background part of our mind. It’s a part of the mind that shapes our habits, our thoughts, and our core beliefs. This is the part of the mind where your thoughts and feelings come from. It stores your beliefs about how you view yourself. For example, if you say to yourself, “I’m not good enough, or nothing will ever be better,” those thoughts are coming from your subconscious mind.

Your thoughts and your emotions are interconnected. What you believe typically will dictate how you feel and how you react in certain situations. 

Have you ever told yourself that you will react differently in a scenario, but the next time a similar situation comes up, you react the same? This is because you are trying to change behavior using your conscious mind. These types of thoughts are called limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs are thoughts and ideas that you believe about yourself that prevent you from reaching your full potential. 

Many of these limiting beliefs could come from stress, past trauma, fear, negative self-talk, and relationship triggers.

In order to change behaviors, you have to reprogram your subconscious mind. 

We will discuss this in the next section and how to do that. 

Subconscious reprogramming is something that has to take place in order for change to happen. You are simply going through your negative thoughts and beliefs and erasing them from your mind. Here are a few mindfulness techniques to get you started.

Mindful attention is when you notice your thoughts and feelings, and you don’t judge yourself for them. All you are doing is being aware of them.

Reprogramming the subconscious mind. There are a few ways to reprogram your subconscious mind.  Stating positive affirmations every day is one of them. When you repeat positive statements about yourself, eventually your subconscious mind starts to believe them. 

Another way is through visualization. This method is picturing images in your mind that you hope will manifest in real life. For instance, let’s say you want to attract a loving, attractive partner. You may picture being happy with your ideal partner, and you guys are hanging out and loving one another. This may sound way too easy, but what this does is it helps you to focus on what you want as opposed to what you don’t want. It also allows you to speak the language of your subconscious mind, which is imagery and repetition.

Another method is meditation. Meditation allows you to get access to your subconscious mind and get rid of limiting beliefs and plant new seeds of what you want your mind to believe.

Journaling allows you to become self-aware and reflect on situations, your thoughts, and feelings. It allows you to identify negative patterns and triggers. You really don’t need a whole lot of time. You just need 5-10 minutes a day and a piece of paper. 

Emotional regulation involves using breathing exercises to take control of your feelings and emotions. It allows you to pause before reacting, especially in a stressful or triggering situation. Before getting angry and frustrated, try taking a deep breath.

Negative thoughts can take over your life really quickly. If you don’t take control of your negative thoughts, then your circumstances won’t change. Taking control of your mind is one of the most powerful things that you can do. Turning negative thoughts into positive ones is possible through mind exercises. 

When you experience a negative thought, quickly replace it with a positive one. For example, if you are in a relationship and you believe that the person doesn’t care about you, you can transform that statement. You can transform it into, “They may show care differently, or something else could be going on.” Here are some more examples:

• Negative: If I say something, then I will cause problems in our relationship. Reframed: Having effective and respectful communication can help the relationship.
• Negative: They should know why I’m upset. Reframed: Respectfully showing my feelings will help us connect better.
• Negative: If I don’t keep the peace, then I will lose them. Reframed: Relationships require communication and healthy boundaries
• Negative: I’m always the one putting in the effort. Reframed: I need more balance and support in this relationship, and it’s important to communicate that.

This exercise can be used anytime you have a negative thought, during visualization, and meditation. It’s an exercise that will require practice and consistency. The first time you do the exercise, you may have racing thoughts, and it could feel hard to control them. The more you do this brain exercise, the better results you will receive. 

There are so many things that can cause us to get off track. Negative things that can slip into our subconscious mind without our permission. What are some of these things you ask? 

Social media is one of them. The negative or positive effects that social media has on us depend on how we use social media. But in general, social media has a lot of negative things; it can be easy to compare yourself to influencers, and it can display an unrealistic view of life. Consider doing a social media detox and see how liberating it can be. 

Another thing is that the TV shows and movies we watch can have a major influence on our subconscious mind. We have to be super careful in what we watch because our subconscious mind is picking up on it. If we are constantly watching scary movies or violent movies, then our minds will start to pick up on it, which can contribute to having a negative mind and racing thoughts.

The next thing you have to protect your mind against is toxic and negative people. Having these people in your life will almost always keep you stagnant in life and have you feeling drained. These people can be anyone, your friends or family, no one is exempt. Many of us are reluctant to cut off these people, especially family members. “Blood is thicker than water.” If this is you, learn how to deal with toxic family members and protect your peace. It is so important to surround yourself with loving and supportive people, especially during your healing journey.

Another thing you have to do is recognize your triggers. If you aren’t aware of what triggers you, then nothing will change. Journaling is a great way to identify negative patterns. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Do I assume negative intent of others without checking facts?
• After an interaction, do I replay conversations over and over again in my mind?
• What are some things that I do instead of addressing the problem?

Set healthy boundaries with people. Saying no is a powerful way to protect your mind and your sanity. I understand it can be hard, but not having healthy boundaries can cause bigger problems, especially with toxic people. 

Sometimes it can be hard for us to control our thoughts and feelings. Having extra support can be very helpful sometimes. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. 

Finding a good therapist, a coach, or joining a support group can do wonders for some people. Of course, you know what’s best for you.

Mind control is a skill that has to be developed over time, just like many things we do in life. Be patient with yourself during this process. Practicing mindfulness exercises can speed things up. Exercises like journaling, meditation, and visualization can help you be aware and take control of your mind. Pick one of these techniques and practice them everyday for 7 days.