Thinking Beyond Science

The choices we make in life define our journey. Most things are out of our control, but how we react is always in our control.

In life, we are sometimes trained to respond only in a certain way. This is called social conditioning, where an individual responds to a situation in a manner generally approved of by society in general. This is fantastic as this conditioning keeps society working in an orderly way. Imagine a society where people were not civil to each other- there would be chaos. However, when social conditioning leads us to become like humanoids and not really understand how to process feelings, that’s when issues arise.

The first step to dealing effectively with our emotions is to understand what they are. Psychologists call this labeling, which is the process of identifying what we are feeling. However, this is not as easy as it seems. The ability to label our emotions correctly is called emotional agility. People with high levels of emotional agility are able to not only decipher how they are feeling, but also understand how others are feeling too.

Once we have labeled our emotions, we should also rate them on a scale of 1 to 10. This helps us understand how deeply we are feeling that emotion and if actionable steps need to be taken about it. In many circumstances, simply labeling an emotion and observing it patiently can be the solution to helping it pass. In other circumstances, we may need help from others to deal with how we are feeling or deal with the causes of how we are feeling.

Metabolism describes all the chemical processes that occur within our body to keep us alive, such as repairing cells, breathing, digesting food, etc. All these processes require energy, and the minimum amount of energy our body requires for these processes is called the basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Around 80 per cent of our body’s daily energy requirements is taken by our BMR. The interesting thing is that genetics, fat:muscle ratio, gender, age, body size, etc., all play a role in determining how ‘fast’ or ‘slow our BMR is. Muscles require more energy than fat, meaning those with muscles have a faster metabolism.

To improve our mental metabolism, we must take that first step of labeling our emotions, dealing with our problems and healing our underlying issues. We all have different mental capacities and should not feel inferior if we cannot cope with mental anguish. It takes time to build mental strength and stamina. Just as we do not judge someone who is new to weight training at the gym if they cannot lift a certain weight, similarly, we should not judge those who have not been trained in building mental resilience.

It’s not always our fault that we are addicted to social media. The platforms are designed by experts to optimize our experience to enjoy their content. Just as our laptops and mobile phones are designed to give the user the best possible experience, social media platforms are also designed with the end-user in mind.

Social media has connected people around the world, developed industries and given joy to billions. However, it can be harmful to our mental health if used incorrectly.

Social media is like a slot machine available on our phones at any time of the day. When we scroll down or refresh, it is like pulling down the lever of a slot machine. The unexpected anticipation triggers a shot of dopamine as we await a potential reward of exciting new content. This may be a habit for many people. Just as at times we may pointlessly go to the fridge, open it even though we know we have nothing in there and then close it, we may become habituated to pointlessly scroll through social media.

There are physical manifestations of the mental health problems caused by social media use. The need for instant gratification can wreak havoc on our sleep cycle and quality.

The choice is ours. Jealousy is counting other people’s blessings rather than our own. Do we want to be resentful of what we are missing? Do we want to be envious that others are enjoying what we don’t have? Or do we want to invest in what we do have and create our happy experiences?

Rather than looking at what we cannot do or what we do not have, it is important to be grateful for what we can do and what we do have. We live in a world of duality: everything has its flip side, but if we can live in a state of gratitude, we can accommodate both.

In this world, everything is like a coin; there are always two sides. Things that seem good always have a downside; things that seem bad always have an upside.

• If the focus is on what we don’t have, it takes away value from what we do have.

This mindset is the key to crafting joy; the opposite of that is comparison, which is the thief of joy.

In our modern society, this ‘missing syndrome’ is leading to a mental health calamity as we have constant access to compare our lives with those of others.

• We must know how to use social media proportionately or we can be used by it.

• The key thing to note is that if our habit of checking our social media feeds is no longer rewarding, then it is a harmful habit that may be damaging our health.

• We can start making small shifts in our mindsets to focus more on our own lives rather than those of others.

• By looking beyond external pleasures and finding inner fulfilment in the meaningful things in life, the fear of missing out will seem secondary.

• If you can learn to enjoy being in the present, the fear of missing out will not be able to hurt you.

• Rather than looking at what we cannot do or what we do not have, it is important to be grateful for what we can do and what we do have.

Source : Energize Your Mind by Gaur Gopal Das

Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60758158-energize-your-mind