Mental wealth
The brain is conceded to be the master organ of the body, the regulator of life, and the source of human progress.
by Frederick Tilney.
“A man can alter his life by altering his thinking.” William James
A person’s mind is so powerful. We can invent, create, experience, and destroy things with our thoughts alone. Anonymous
That’s your best friend and your worst enemy — your own brain. Fred Durst
These four quotes from four different individuals all emphasize one thing: the value of our minds in functioning and living as humans. Frederick tells us in the first quote that our brain has three vital functions: it masters our body organs; it regulates life; and it is the source of all progress. This means what? It means a man without a brain is not a man.
We require proper brain function for our organs to function, for our lives to be regulated, and for us to progress. These things make our brains our most important possession. It is, in fact, our first true wealth. Just think of this: a person who is mentally retarded (ID). Please take no offense; such people are still human and their rights must be respected like any other normal-functioning human in spite of their mental condition. They need our love and care, but allow me to illustrate something through this condition.
People with this condition are limited in their learning of general skills not by choice but by birth. With this inability to learn, what they can achieve is limited. What they can do is limited, not by choice but because of their mental condition.
And because of that, their life experience is limited, and what they can give to life is also limited.
Let’s move away from this group of people to those who are completely mad. Again, such people are still human and have rights, and those rights must be respected. But we all agree that their productivity in life and in society is taken away by their mental condition. They cannot run for any political position, they cannot be CEOs, etc., because of their mental situation.
If that is the scenario, we who are of sound mind, how do we take care of our minds? Having seen how essential it is to our lives, how much more productive are we? How much of our lives are regulated, how much progress do we make, and how much do we develop our brains? Do you see the blessings of having a sound mind? Your mind is so powerful. Someone said, “A person’s mind is so powerful. We can invent, create, experience, and destroy things with our thoughts alone.
These are three things I would call for you to focus on to exploit your mental wealth. First, I call on you to take care of the health of your mind. I am not a mental health expert or a psychologist, so I do not want to give you guesses on how to take care of your mental health. I can only advise you to take seriously the counsel of those who are authoritative in this area.
Make sure you get the right treatment every time you feel unfit mentally. Avoid all that pollutes your mental health.
Second, train, teach, develop, grow and feed your mind with positive new and helpful knowledge. An empty brain cannot help you much. It is like a blunt axe. You may use too much power and time to finish the work. In short, you will lack effectiveness and efficiency. A dull mind hurts the body and hurts life, the same way a dull axe sores the hands, breaks the body, saps energy and consumes time.
The same with your brain: if you do not develop it, either by choice or negligence, it will cost you more resources to make your life effective. I read these words: “Life is tough, but is tougher on the stupid.” Remember, it is the brain that regulates your life. That’s why, from the time we are born, our minds are trained or conditioned in a certain bent to help us live well as individuals in society and also to be productive members of society. We have received both formal and informal training in the family, society, and schools.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” -Abraham Lincoln. Develop your mind intentionally.
But because the brain is complex and has great capacity, no amount of training can fill it up. We need to keep on learning. Another factor that we should keep on learning is that life is dynamic, not static. Things change and new discoveries are made, so we need to update ourselves daily. If we stop learning, we will become obsolete. Someone said at the foot of every transformation there’s information. Information is the food of our minds, and our minds are the forces that bring transformation. William James said, “A man can alter his life by altering his thinking.”
Third, the brain is the source of progress. When you look around, when you read history and you search the internet, you will see how much man has discovered, built, created, invented and achieved through the right development and use of his mind. Put your mind to work; you’ll be surprised at what a focused mind can accomplish. You don’t have to be a genius like Albert Einstein.
All you need is focus; you don’t need to be limited by what is taught in schools. I am not against schooling, but our schools have added more padlocks to the doors and chains to the corridors of the faculties of our brains instead of opening them wide. Your brain is more powerful than any school, trust me. School is important, but not the end. To think that school can only handle the development of our brain is an insult to our brain. Nobody can tame the power of the mind. Unleash your mind if you want to progress. I know there are a lot of factors to success, but the brain comes first, then work. Work is just an interpretation of the thoughts in your brain.
School does not give the brain its power; it is a tool that the brain should use to ask more and better questions, not give answers. The brain has greatness of its own. Enjoy using it, developing it and protecting it.
Note;
A sound mind is a blessing and a capability, so protect it, develop it and
