The Tribune

By MICHELLE M MILLER

If content constructs your character, where do you obtain your content? This question is fundamental to any quest to improve any aspect of your life. Your contents matters. Constructing your character ought to be the most important function of your life. No matter how irrelevant it may seem whatever spread through your mind builds the person you become. Negative content produces negativity, positive content yields positivity.

Despite this, there seems to be an increased appetite for negative content. I believe this is because most people simply don’t know the value of their mind. Yes, they are well informed as to the value of their money, but not their precious minds. This is because nobody has informed them and they lack the capacity to find out for themselves.

This means that the contents of the character that many people possess are not necessarily based on what they know – but on what they have heard. I find this perplexing but not surprising considering that the high level of information dependency many have adopted. This has led to the habit of looking to be told what to think, rather than how to think.

The difficulty here is you are the chief architect of your life. It will not get any better until your mind gets better. You ought to take control of the content that constructs your character. Just as you consider the quality of the food you put it into your mouth, content ought to be inspected before you give it residence in your mind

Your life follows your thoughts. Character building is about understanding the ingredients of your thinking. A quality life hinges on the quality of the thoughts dwelling in your mind. Imagine you were to bake the best apple pie ever. You would seek out the best ingredients to ensure that your pie is the riches and tastiest. Your life is no different. You have a responsibility to scope out the best quality content to build your life.

The habit of negativity is often driven by pop culture, which teaches that everything popular is good. However, when popularity becomes priority, your principles often perish. You alone hold the keys to your mind.

Make no mistake about it; there is intent behind the content that you entertain. It is either constructive or destructive. Negative people lean on three ‘”C’s”: criticizing, condemning and or complaining. No matter how hard you try, they refuse to see the positive side of the situation. It is a fixation of their perception.

Moreover, all over the world, people rely on media as their primary source of information and content delivery. Consider the purpose of your life and reevaluate the source of your content; newspapers, books, movies, television, radio or people you hang around. Are they serving your intention for your life?

I’ve observed that over the past twenty years, despite a proliferation of media outlets, the content quality has become wrapped in the three C’s. As a result, when compared to those of yesteryear, who had limited media access, there are more people today burdened by problems with less capacity to manage.

When negativity takes root in your mind, it literally takes over your life. Positivity, on the other hand, is a little different, and a lot more challenging. Not getting as much media exposure, it requires more work and consistency. A key habit of positive-focused individuals is to pay attention to the safeguard of their minds. They recognize that quality content produces a quality life.

Here is great advice: do not out source your mind to the media or any unknown source. Cultivate it with quality content that inspires your dreams. Perhaps it is worth stating that you cannot spend the bulk of your time in a cesspool of negativity and miraculously produce positive character.

Recognize that your mind matters most. There is enormous power and value in your mind. You must respect it by installing a protective screen to block out unhealthy content. Make today the day that you take the lead in your own life, be discriminate in what you allow your mind to entertain.

Now is the perfect time to shift your life paradigm.

Michelle M. Miller is a certified Life-Coach, Leadership Expert and Author of Take The Lead. She is the CEO of TTL Coaching Strategies and founder of the Girls Leadership Coaching Club. Questions or comments can be sent to email coaching242@yahoo.com or telephone 429-6770.