Is Your Mind Built on Weak Foundations?

We spend thousands building strong foundations for our homes and offices yet we’re not prepared to invest in our mental foundations.

Epic pictures of earthquakes show the effects of both weak and strong foundations.

Many contractors cut corners where possible when laying foundations with poor quality materials and design. Some buildings collapse for no apparent reason other than bad foundations.

I watched a program about a hurricane-resistant building that was immensely strong and yet it had to be demolished because the ground underneath the building was unable to support it.

Have you built the fortress of your mind on weak foundations?

Are your foundations sunk in the swamp of pessimism, the sands of indecision or upon the solid bedrock of moral strength, courage and will?

No matter how strong you make your mind through the disciplines available such as positive thinking, mediation and thought control, it will fail if your foundations are weak.
I’m not using the word weak in the sense of intelligence or mental power but rather ‘˜likely to fail under stress or pressure’.

The lives we lead today are filled with schedules, deadlines and a frantic pace that barely gives us time to catch our breath.
The endless race for the best deal and the elusive dollar forces us into a pressure cooker environment with no release valve.

Some folk last longer whilst others turn to stimulants to relieve the pressure. Sooner or later something has to give whether it’s your health or your sanity. When weak foundations crack, terms like burnout or breakdown are used to describe the end results.

So what are the telltale signs of a weak mind?

Wrong motives.

Wrong motives produce wrong actions.
Often you want things in your life but your motive is wrong.
Analyse your motives before taking any action. This will cause you to really look at your values and morals.

Do you seek cars, homes, luxuries and pleasure? At any price?
If your life is based upon things then your life is very shallow. Your senses are easily gratified but there is always a price to pay.
Things satisfy the senses only for a fleeting moment but then they demand more. Ask any addict how they started.

A weak mind is based on wrong motives, an unwillingness to prepare or pay the cost to lay a strong foundation.

When you lay a foundation, you need to know what the building looks like, its purpose and where you intend to build it.
Once all of this is done only then are the lines laid out and the digging begins. The harder the ground the better the foundation but much more effort is needed to complete the work.

Are you prepared to examine your motives before making the easy choice of laying a foundation on soft ground?

Conformity.

• • • Do you look, speak and act like those who surround you or are you unique?
    • Do you have your own opinion and beliefs or are you too afraid to voice them?
    • Do you believe everything the media puts before you as though it’s a fact?
    • Have you accepted the standards and values of your mentors or society without question?
    • Do you adjust your beliefs so that you won’t offend others?
    • Do you follow your conscience and intuition or have you let others dictate what you should do?

If you answered yes to some of the questions then you are a conformist.
There are certain rules that you need to conform to but if you are adjusting your beliefs and internal values to be accepted by society then your foundations are cracked.
Many sheep are led to slaughter because they follow the Judas Goat.

It takes courage to go against the flow.
Dead fish float.

It takes resolve not to compromise your values just because everybody else is doing it. That may be true but it doesn’t mean that it’s right for you.

The remaining five signs of a weak mind are covered in the next post.

Nothing in the world makes people so afraid as the influence of independent-minded people.
Albert Einstein