How what we watch and read helps us to develop a mindset?

There are many of us who wouldn’t agree to be affected by what we watch and read. But that’s not true. Although, there are many ways to get affected. Sometimes we don’t even realize that what we are watching is getting downloaded in our minds.

Here, before we talk about developing a mindset. I want you to understand the day to day impact on our minds due to what we watch and read.

Unconscious effects of what you watch and read

Have you ever asked this question to yourself that why these news channels use a big bold headline with a question mark when there is a generalist repeating the same thing again and again? Well, I understand we don’t watch TV that much nowadays. But once in a while, we do go to news channels, right. And almost every time we ignore the question mark at the end of that bold line. In this way, the daily agendas of news channels become daily news. Therefore, unconsciously we download that information in mind. And gradually by the time, watching such made-up information creates a mindset, which affects our decision making in personal life. 

The same pattern is followed by huge advertisement markets. Where you are encountered to pictures which you saw two weeks ago. Just to make sure that you see it again. Well, it’s not new to us it’s been as so for a very long time. But now it’s so much easier for these firms to manipulate us.

In 2017, when the Netflix series, ‘13 Reasons Why‘, streamed online showing a teen girl following through on her suicide. According to JAMA Psychiatry, that year suicides among teens rose by 13 percent in the following months. As it supports the fact that something happens when our imaginations met with an emotional scene. Here, saying that violent content causes viewers to think and act more aggressively, wouldn’t be wrong.

When imagination meets the visual

The famous author and CEO of Growing leaders, Tim Elmore mentioned in one of his bestseller books, that our minds are visual. As very nerves in our brains are tied to our eyes’ retina, we think in pictures. According to his book, Habitudes, developing a mindset is like making a habit. I almost agree with him. What about you?

Well, just to clarify it let’s take another example.

One of my teachers was quite upset with the fact that kids of Gen Z, are not taking interest in reading these days. And because of video gaming, they’re almost always occupied. So she made a family policy, that everyone will read at least 30 mins each day. Now by everyone, she meant she herself will be too. Hence, she created a live and viewable example for the kids. Which shows that most of the time lecture (something we just hear never listen) does not work. But this family policy seemed to actually work. And it did.

In the same way, if you have made up your mind to something. It’s really hard to accept, what is the other person saying. That’s what happens when people feel comfortable around the negativity and never try to overcome it. They eventually end up blaming either their bad-luck or someone else’s good luck. And keep using mindset shaped due to a few failures and some setbacks.

Develop Your Mindset

Now we try to find the answer to the question asked in the title. This is it. The previous example lead us to the conclusion that to develop a mindset you can’t just make resolutions of the things to do or not to do in life.

Your imagination has to meet a visual of which you need to be an equal participant. And the equal participation will not come out of the blue, but by habit.

Therefore to develop a mindset all you need is:

• imagination
• scene
• habit

In order to follow this, make sure you know what not to watch and read. Video games and porn videos directly hit your mind computer. Just like video games make you impatient by nature, porn changes the way you see your own sexual life. It can affect your expectations with your partner. Be careful when you switch the channel to a news channel. And try to keep the mindset open for growth or developments. The process can be hard but the result would never disappoint you.

So avoid these elements as much as you can and add some books to your bedside cupboard.

Today.