We cannot control what goes on around us,

but we can choose what we invite in.

Imagine the following scenario. You’re getting ready to have dinner with your family or a few friends when the doorbell rings. Not expecting anyone else, you cautiously look through the peephole or check the security camera. You see a stranger. Do you unlock the door, throw it open, and invite him in?

No. You would most likely not choose to let in an unknown person, someone who might be anything from annoying to dangerous.

If we are careful about who we invite into our home, why are we so careless about what we welcome into our mind? Just because something pops up on the television or in social media, or in conversations around us, it doesn’t mean we should readily admit such things into our life. Into our minds. It’s our decision whether we allow the ill will and daily drama into our minds.

We can throw open the door to all and sundry.

Or we can choose to only invite in that which we know is safe and beneficial.

We don’t have to know everything. So . . .

What we habitually do, we become.

What we habitually think, as well.

Remember how you were told not to slouch when young? Our parents were helping us form habits for the future. If we failed to listen then, we might well find ourselves hunching over today. For example, when working on our laptop. Or walking with our body ever so slightly curved, head tilted slightly, and eyes downcast. Suitable for not tripping over something, but not helpful when crossing a busy street!

Our mind works the same way.

If we have a habit of turning to negative thoughts, like those of grievance, self-pity, low-esteem, our minds will become increasingly used to such thoughts. And gradually, imperceptibly, become changed by them.

Just as our body can in time become bent over, our mind can also begin to warp, to view all that it perceives negatively. And, without our even noticing, our mind slowly closes to all that is upright and well thought out.