Alternate Title: Nurture your prefered thoughts and get rid of the weeds
Inspired by this refinery29 post.
You can also download the following informative template if you’ll like a pretty explanation equipped with worksheets.
What is a mind garden?
Basically, our mind is a garden, and how we choose to nurture it can decide much of our outlook on life. Whether it’s productivity, an elusive purpose, or just your general mental health, it all goes back to that garden in your head. Which would suggest, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to cultivate a mind garden we’ll love tending to.
That kind of makes sense. Can you take the analogy further though?
Of course.
Here’s what you probably have going on in your garden:
- Weeds: Overwhelming and persistent negative thoughts. Thoughts in this category drain your energy and even “suck the life out of you” in worst-case scenarios. [If weeds take over your garden, life will feel rough.]
- Seeds: Those new thoughts and ideas that you choose to cultivate into something more. These thoughts may be guided by passion, curiosity, or something else. [If you’re not sure what seeds you’ve been planting, start writing down any repetitive thoughts you have. Or start learning about something you find interesting. It’s that easy.]
- Seedlings: Young ideas that you’re still in the early stage of nurturing. [This involves learning more about whatever topic relates to the thought.]
- Mature Plants: Once you have a solid understanding of your idea, it’s matured. And you may even find yourself with a harvest. It may not be actual fruits, veggies, herbs, or flowers. But, you might start creating something with all the knowledge you’ve gathered. [Yes, this blog post counts as a harvest.]
Alright, I’m liking this. But, exactly how do I cultivate my garden?
Gather your tools
Information can go a long way. And whether it’s a physical or mental garden, knowing how to take care of a plant is good information to have. You want to practice effective strategies and good habits.
Let’s look at the following:
- Sunlight: Let your thoughts exist outside your head. [If all you do is hide an idea, how do you ever expect it to grow? At some point, sheltering your precious thought will become detrimental.]
- Water: Explore and learn more about your ideas.
- The environment: The type of surroundings you provide a thought can drastically impact its ability to flourish. [For example, if you try to explore an idea that’s rejected by those around you, there’s a decent chance it’ll bring you down. And you might give up nourishing that specific idea.]
- Shears: A nice cut can free your thoughts to grow better. [Sometimes you’re working with misinformation. Other times, the usual advice just doesn’t work for you. In such cases, be willing to cut off the useless info.]
- Fence: Protect your mind garden.
It’s also, important to recognize that each idea you nurture is a bit different. And that your results will never turn out the same way. That’s just life. Learn to adapt.
Start gardening
So, what are you waiting for?
Chances are the best thing you can do for your life is to work on your inner garden. So put on your gardening gloves, grab a nice hat, and start working.
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