We must train the mind as it it were a physical muscle. All Growth originates from thoughts.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Proverbs 4:23
In conjunction with the idea of using rational thought regularly, we must train the mind to be efficient, clear and filled with a large supply of knowledge to draw upon. We must be in top mental shape in order to cast down every argument that stands against our faith (2 Corinthians 2:5-7).
Christians do not take the need for mental fitness seriously enough. They Never train the mind.
We become content with the status quo of the day: wake up, watch TV before work, hit our job, come home for more TV. Maybe occasionally we toss a little bit of book reading in there to feel good about ourselves or so we can brag to our friends. No one trains the mind these days, and those who do are worshiped. Those who train the mind regularly then have a chance to display their developed skill that makes the average man scoff and say, “I wish I was smart like that guy”. It has little to do with intelligence, and everything to do with work ethic and training the mind every single day.
You want to know where dementia comes from? Lethargy of body and mind. The American States with the most dementia deaths are also the ones that are the least physically active . Decay of the mind will come to us all, but we can slow the spread of that evil by training the mind every single day, consistently, without fail, just as you must train the body every day. An out of shape body is the physical manifestation of an out of shape mind.
Dump the idea that training the mind should be fun. The least fun, most difficult things are done the least, but have the best return on investment.
You have several options for training your mind: adding knowledge to the mind constantly is one of them. So you read and learn new things. You expand your mind with the knowledge others have worked hard to discover. You learn by linking new information you want to learn to facts you already have in your mind. The more you learn, the easier it is to gain even more information because you constantly expand your mental network, thereby have more knowledge to link new facts to more quickly. This is the compound interest of knowledge.
Train through math or logic exercises.
Math is built on logic, so training either one of these would give overlap to the other. Math is rumored to be able to physically thicken the brain. This is yet to be definitively proven by science, and may be an old wives’ tale, but the idea that the brain grows when trained should at least inspire us to consider taking action.
Train the mind by learning strategy.
Learn how to play chess, and in doing so you will learn how to play life. You plan several moves ahead and anticipate what the enemy will do. This can then be used in interpersonal relations with individuals. If you have an idea of what people will say to you, you can plan the best possible response ahead of time and avoid embarrassing yourself. If you know every atheistic argument better than the atheist, you can have every rebuttal planned and in place and ready to eradicate those arguments from the face of the earth.
You train the mind through meditation and focus exercises.
In the genre of mediation are several techniques or subgenres that you can train in to develop your control over your mind. The “Do nothing” method, the “observation of thought”, the “Focus on the breath”. For concentration, research access concentration, as “woo-woo” as it may seem, you should consider it and train in it. These are the essence of the control of the mind.
Good stewardship does not apply merely to our money, it applies to our mind. Would you let a car sit in the garage for 30 years with no maintenance and expect it to crank up and run perfectly? No you would not. Do not do the same thing with your mind like so many of the weak.
You hear the weak men say all the time”My mind isn’t what it used to be”, that is because you are not training it. The mind doesn’t grow while one sits around watching television. Sure, there are legitimate medical cases in which cognitive ability is impaired and nothing can be done about it. However, these are the exceptions. Most of us have no excuse to avoid training the mind, we should look in the mirror and behold the lazy man. Let’s get to work training the mind while we still have the opportunity.
Mantra
The trained mind is the path to success and peace.
Application
Pick one area you want to train the mind in and start immediately. Just establish the habit of training every day and never take a day off. It does not really matter what you do in the beginning. If you are being honest with yourself, doing a crossword puzzle would probably be more mental work than most men are currently accustomed to doing.
Once you are in the habit or working every day, then add the more difficult things. Start learning some math on your own, even if you hated it in high school. Even working in a book of logic puzzles is good for the mind.
Practice meditation by focusing on your breath and observe the thoughts that enter your mind as if watching them as a spectator of your own mind. Get to work learning new information or a new language. Just write phrases on flash cards and carry them with you.
Memorize scripture. Train your mind to remember faster, it can in fact be trained. Whatever you are doing, do it heavily, with intensity as a man.
Destroy your goals.
Build the mind you want you have through consistent action each day.
Focus on your skill.
Be a Man
Conduct Yourselves Like Men.
