Have you ever thought of your mind as a garden?  I would argue that each of us carry the most fertile plot of land we will ever own, right between our ears. Our minds are capable of producing a harvest greater than that of the most fertile soil or the most efficiently run farm on the planet.  So how do we leverage this valuable real estate we’ve been given?  Are there some “gardening tips” we can apply to the garden of our minds?  I believe there are.

Much like a conventional garden, which produces its crop based on the seeds the gardener sows, our minds also produce a harvest based on the seeds we plant in it.  However, seeds planted in the mind come in a different form than seeds that are planted in the ground.  Seeds for the mind include things like:

• Books we read
• People we hang around with
• Podcasts, blogs, people, and websites we follow
• Movies and TV programs we watch and the music we listen to
• Groups we associate with

Anything we see, hear, or experience is a potential seed falling on the fertile soil of our mind.

So when these seeds are planted in our minds and take root, what do they produce?  They produce:

• Mindsets and paradigms
• Thoughts
• Ideas
• Attitudes
• Beliefs and ideals

The bigger questions we should be asking ourselves are, “What kind of thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and attitudes is my mind producing?”  Are they positive, and taking me in the direction I want to go in life?  Do they encourage me and make me want to learn, grow, and stretch to become even better than I currently am?

What if they’re not good?  What if your thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and attitudes are negative, leaving you feeling defeated, discouraged, frustrated and fearful?  If this is the case, I’d suggest looking at the seeds you’re allowing to be sown, and take root, in your mind.

It is impossible for a gardener to plant seeds of corn and yield a crop of anything other than corn.  Since corn is what the gardener planted, a harvest of corn is what they’ll reap.  If the gardener wanted carrots instead, they should have sown carrot seeds rather than seed that produce corn.  The exact principle is at work within our minds.  If we fill our minds with seeds of positive input, we’ll get a harvest of positive thoughts and ideas in return.  On the contrary, fill your mind with seeds of negativity and defeat, your thoughts and ideas will be negative and defeating.

Just like a garden, our mind requires constant care to ensure that it’s getting proper seeding.  If seeds that we don’t want have taken root, they should be immediately uprooted and disposed of.  Isn’t it interesting (and frustrating) how easily weeds grow?  You don’t even have to plant them and they show up everywhere!  Think of negative thoughts as weeds in your mind.  If you’re being attentive to what you allow into your mind, weed producing seeds can creep in and take root.  Once a weed has been identified in your mind, remove it immediately and plant something positive in its place.  Left untended your mind, much like a garden, will become overrun with weeds.

Let’s be aware of the seeds we’re filling our minds with and the harvest they yield.  If we don’t like the harvest our mind is producing, we need only sow different seeds that will produce a harvest we desire.

What weeds do you need to remove from your mind?  What seeds do you need to begin sowing?  Cause something to happen today, by actively tending to the garden of your mind.