Do you ever feel that you are too intelligent for your own good? Do you fail to do tasks or goals consistently? If so, you might be a victim of your mind trying to converse energy. When the brain conserves energy, it will not push past that comfort zone. Over our entire human development, we have been kept alive through our instincts and in modern times due to advances in technology and medicine. Now that we live in a society where we do not need as much care and aid as we once did, we must wonder where all this extra energy goes.

When we look at our lives, we will notice what we do or procrastinate upon. Many people will find a reason or an excuse not to do something they should. For example, if they know they should wake up in the morning when their alarm rings, why do they hit the snooze button? Another example would be fitness. If someone knows they should eat healthily and have some fitness regimen, why would they avoid working out? The quick answer is that the brain is naturally lazy. It doesn’t want to push past the baseline and excerpt any energy that isn’t needed. However, that will get in the way of our thinking.

The problem that comes from us not taking positive actions is that we will learn the behavior of low ambition. It is easier to stay in bed and not get up and go to work; the brain understands that. It is easier to skip the gym and have an extra hour to do something that is lower energy and mentally stimulating enough to keep you occupied when you should have been at the gym. The mind is impressive, but it can also be our own worst enemy if we let it. That leads us to the process of the mind and what we need to know to control it.

The first thing we need to understand about the mind is that it will choose a lower-level activity before deciding on a higher action. The activity may not be better for a person, but in many cases, the higher energy activity will be better for us in the long run. We have to look at being efficient and enjoyable. The energy level required will decide whether it will pursue it more willingly or offer resistance to completing the task.

The second area is that the brain has to see the good in the activity. This has many facets because it will encompass if you like what you are doing, if it is easy or challenging (depends on the person’s mindset if it is labeled good or bad), or lastly if it is mentally stimulating. The first part is going to deal with it being fun or enjoyable. Many people do not like to go to the gym because they are met with a period of pain and discomfort. That signals the brain to worry, i.e., fight or flight. The brain, at first, doesn’t know you are trying to strengthen the body on an unconscious level. That is why it thinks you are trying to harm it, and it will find a way for you not to push going to the gym and would rather stay in a comfortable place.

We then have to look at the level of difficulty of the task. Suppose something is easy when you have a higher probability of doing that than the more challenging task. You might see children become frustrated when learning a new math problem. When I was young, I remember thinking, why do I have to learn multiplication? I could just keep using addition and get by. It was a process I didn’t want to know about, but I am glad I did. Initially, the brain will see a challenge and put up some resistance to a new system or program; in the effort, it can be lazy and just remain the same. 

That then goes into our third and final area, which has to be mentally stimulating. When I was younger, I didn’t want to have any challenges or have to learn something that would require a higher level of thinking. My mind at the time wasn’t primed for that type of growth. However, my mind today looks for the challenge and finds joy in starting and completing any task. It doesn’t matter if it is a high-energy task or a low-energy task because what I was able to do is understand how my mind works and move it so that I can benefit from it and understand its limitations.

I came up with this idea of the mind being enslaved by our intellect for two reasons. The first is the inception of the human condition. The second is the aging of technology and all of its advances. When we look at what a human wants is to have as few problems as possible. We want to be happy and cared for, but we want that to be the easiest and shortest route to the goal. That means we naturally will not look for hardship if there is a chance we can get what we are looking for with little or no effort. Once the brain has this learned behavior, it will require a change in how we look at a situation. 

We are also faced with technology being a blessing and a curse. Now we have a supercomputer in the palm of our hand for our convenience. We can easily use it for math, reading, writing, etc. All the basic building blocks of education are now at our fingertips, and many people do not see a problem with that. I understand the wealth of benefits having a smartphone in our hands can accomplish, but at some point, we have to see what the endpoint will be if we continue to move down this road. According to a study at Macquarie University, smartphones have the opposite effect that many people think they are having. 

Smartphones are lowering our cognitive ability to think critically. Why do you think that social media can spout misinformation about scientifically proven facts that go against the basis of human evolution? Our phone tells us the answers instead of going out and finding them. If we are faced with an article online or on social media, we will be led to believe that as true. However, social media is on a tyrannical push for misinformation as the prime reason not to trust certain schools of thought. I would be surprised if an article that promotes personal development and prosperity gets flagged for misinformation; there is an ulterior motive.

Like the blacks taken from freedom and enslaved to manual labor, society is moving into a modern form of enslavement where freedom of speech is limited, and what you are allowed to think must be in line with societal norms. This did not happen overnight. This was a carefully thought out plan, or it was a course of cause and effect from technology taking away the need for our brains to perform at high levels. Eventually, we will not need people to do what computers can do because we allow ourselves to be dumbed down and not pushed when faced with a challenge.

We should begin to develop a mindset that will not depend on other factors than ourselves. We have to learn again to ask questions and be proficient in basic and advanced life skills. This is not to say we have to be specialists in every field of study because that will be a daunting task and will be halted by our unconscious motivators. That means we have to relearn what we love and get back to a higher way of thinking than we are thinking now. We have to be able to look at cause and effect and not shy away from challenges or struggles; as long as people look for an easy way of living, they will be enslaved to their intellect.

In closing, we do not have to be modern-day enslaved people in this society. We can push past those societal standards and develop standards that will promote substantial growth in our lives. Our brain is our first enemy, and the second is society. To defeat these foes, we must learn to control our way of thinking and develop a mindset that will promote a fuller life. That is to ask the right questions and daily utilize the body’s fullest potential. We have been moving sloppily and sluggishly for too long, reflecting our minds. If you are ready to change how you think currently, getting a mindset coach can be the first step to liberating your enslaved mind. 

Until then,

Michael Rearden

Founder of Reven Concepts