Conditioning of the mind refers to, being judgmental about something or someone, even about yourself or life as a whole. It’s when your mind is conditioned, to think in a certain manner presumptuously. It is characterized by a predictable or consistent pattern of behaviour or thought, as a result of having been subject to certain circumstances or conditions in the past.

For instance, let’s say past conditioning tells you that you are unlovable. Then when someone says, “I love you,” you react not to those positive words, but to old doubt, insecurity and negative experiences with love that you may have had in the past. The new gets obliterated by the old. Similarly, someone in the past, who meant a lot to you or was a figure of authority in your life such as: a teacher, a parent, grandparent or a boss, may have consistently made you feel and used words, indicating that you are a loser. Then your mind gets conditioned at each stage of life, to feel like a loser. As a result of this you may have low self-esteem and confidence. So much so, to not even attempt anything new or take risks in life. This is because you just keep feeling and thinking that you are no good. You continue to live life without feeling empowered, believing that you just don’t have it in you to succeed in life. 

In order to live a life that is unlimited by the experiences of the past, we must learn to break out of this conditioned mindset. Else, it will restrict and limit you from enjoying life to the fullest and living out your true destiny. There are three powerful ways you can do this:

  1. Believe in Yourself: Stop allowing yourself to be a victim of negative past conditioning. Accept compliments and positive opinions of people and believe in your potential. Consciously work at building your sense of self-worth. Plot your own life graph since you were a child and you will be pleasantly surprised, to see how much you have achieved in life, inclusive of the small wins and all that you have overcome. Don’t let your measure of success conform to everything the world and others define as success. Move ahead daily, as a confident individual with this conviction, that your life is precious and worth it, no matter what and you will make the best of it.
  1. Use Positive Affirmations Every Day: Start the day by looking at yourself in the mirror every morning and saying, “I am a winner, I am beautiful, I am worth it!”. First thing in the morning because it sets the tone for the day. They say the best antidote to a snake’s poison is the venom itself. Well, the best antidote to negative words spoken over your life are positive words. Affirmations such as these penetrate your very being – soul and spirit and then translate into your actions being those of an overcomer. This is a very effective way to train your mind to have a positive mindset and break free from past conditioning.
  1. Spend some, ‘Me-time’, with yourself: Get to know yourself better. Understand your strengths and weaknesses and work with them. Invest in yourself; Read self-help books or see videos that inspire and which you can learn from, engage in activities and conversations that help to build you. Enroll in courses that upgrade your skills or add-on new ones that you are interested in. Just spend some quality time with yourself relaxing, praying and being… You will begin to be more aware of who you really are and realise your own self-worth. Journaling and putting your thoughts down is a great way to declutter as well as express yourself more and get to know yourself better. Evaluate your life and see who are the people you are surrounded by and get rid of every toxic relationship that is pulling you down. Where do you spend your time and what are the time wasters you need to get rid of. When you begin to know yourself, you will stop getting swayed by every opinion about you and will also be able to deal with the tendency to succumb to past conditioning, as you get to know yourself better every day. This way you are slowly but surely progressing each day at becoming a better version of yourself! 

Past conditioning is limiting and it affects us all. Deal with it and arrest it! I couldn’t be more emphatic about this, having been a victim of it myself. You will begin to see your life, in a different light and be a transformed person. This will enable you to embark on a great journey, living life as a victor and not as a victim. Everyday is a new day and it holds endless opportunities for you. So, stop dwelling in the shadows of the past my friend and start to live life victoriously! 

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