5 Ideas to Hold Firmly in Your Mind

My blog posts are mostly about racial and climate justice. This one features some ideas that are not specifically on those topics, but which can, in my experience, lead us to be more effective, see reality more clearly, and be happier in general, including in our social justice work.

We can choose the perspectives we hold in our minds
We humans have a remarkable ability to choose the perspectives that we hold in our minds. Sometimes we can succeed in holding the view that we are smart, loved, and capable. However, left to their own devices, too often our minds tend to turn toward self-criticism that undermines our confidence and reduces our happiness and effectiveness. These negative ideas often come from hurtful interactions we’ve experienced and from the oppressive society in which we live. These negative notions about ourselves sap our energy and reduce our effectiveness in our anti-racism and climate work.

We tend to think that not having gotten all the love we wanted is a sign there’s something wrong with us. Many of us had experiences early in our lives that left us feeling on our own and relatively powerless to change the situations in which we find ourselves. Going through school has left many of us with doubts about our intelligence. Our society bombards us with less than fully respectful views of women, people of the global majority, LGBQT+ individuals, people of various religious and national heritages, people with various levels of income, men, and other groups. We carry these ideas in our heads about ourselves, as well as about others.

We are better than our internal voices often tell us we are
Nonetheless, we can choose to hold better perspectives in our minds, particularly perspectives about ourselves. At our best moments we know that we are well-intentioned, good people. Sometimes we can tell that we are loved and that we often have a good impact on those around us. We know that we are often doing the best we can under the circumstances we are in. We can choose to keep these more accurate, positive ideas about ourselves in the forefront of our minds more of the time.

I was recently leading a weekend workshop in which the participants were exploring these ideas. We were attempting to heal from hurtful experiences and the effects of societal oppression on us. We were seeking to claim a fully self-appreciative attitude about ourselves. I found myself caring deeply about the people present. I found myself wanting them to know how terrific they are and also to have a sense of their potential to impact the world around them–from their individual relationships and work settings, to addressing racism and the climate crisis.

5 ideas I want you to hold in your mind about yourself
In planning the final day of the workshop I came up with a list of ideas that I wanted them to hold in their minds about themselves. I said to them, “I want you to walk through the world thinking these things about yourself at all times:

1. I have a good mind.
2. I can bring caring and attention to any situation.
3. I matter and am significant.
4. I am connected to others and they to me.
5. I am no less or more human than any other human being on the planet and belong 100% as a member of the human family.”

All of a sudden many people at the workshop reached for pen and paper to write this list down. One announced that she was going to laminate it and put it by her desk. A teacher said he was going to post it in his classroom for his students. Another person asked if she could share it on social media. Having gotten that response from the workshop participants, I decided I should share the list with you.

Appropriate for everyone from kindergarteners to elders
I hope that you can recognize these statements as true about yourself. I’m quite confident that they are true of you. I also assume that although true, these ideas aren’t always prominent in your view of yourself, and sometimes are overridden by self-doubts and feeling bad about some aspect of yourself. Most of us are going to have those feelings, at least from time to time. Even when we are feeling bad though, we can still decide that the statements above are true about us.

Because many of the participants at the workshop were classroom teachers, they got me thinking about my time working in elementary schools. I started out as a kindergarten teacher. Looking at this list of 5 items now, I realize that these are all things I wanted my kindergarten students to know about themselves. I couldn’t have written this list back then, but it’s a pretty good description of the view I wanted them to have about themselves.

The list also contradicts negative messages that come from every societal oppression.

You, of course, should feel free to revise this list to fit you, your goals, and what you most want to remember. In any case, as more and more of us can remember and act on such a list, I think we increase our chances of having good lives, tackling the big issues before us, and creating a more caring, interconnected society.

____________________________
Photo above was taken of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, by Russ Vernon-Jones

I’ll let you know when my next new post is available.
Click “Subscribe” below.

SUBSCRIBE