Mind control: 14 psychological tips to achieve it

It might seem that mind control has something to do with superpowers., something like telepathy or the ability to control the mind of others. But mind control refers to our ability to be aware of our thoughts and emotions so that they do not dominate our behavior.

When we have poor mental control, it is possible that we regret some actions or behaviors that we carry out, for example, when fight with our partner and say things that we do not really think, things that at a certain moment, when anger dominates us, can seem true. Instead, when we think coldly we can realize that emotions have dominated us.

• Related article: "Winning character: 9 qualities and traits to understand it"

How to improve mind control

Mental control is a set of techniques or habits that allow us to know our emotions better and thoughts and know those of other people. As a consequence, it allows us to regulate our behavior.

In the following lines you can find a list of tips to improve mental control.

1. Connect with the here and now

Mental control can only occur when we are in the present moment, that is, in the here and now., connected with ourselves and what surrounds us. If we live in unrealistic expectations or simply let ourselves be carried away by our thoughts, we can carry out behaviors of which we are not proud later.

Being in the present allows us to reflect on what is happening at this precise moment, which helps us to act according to the situation and what we want. We control what we do.

2. Make use of self-reflection

Living in the present moment does not mean that we should let ourselves be carried away by the situation without thinking about anything other than feeling, but rather that it is possible to make use of self-reflection, which It is very important in the development of a person and that allows learning from experience.

And it is that self-reflection is linked to observation and therefore to mental control. Reflecting and focusing attention on what happens not only around us but also on our internal experience helps us to have greater mental control.

• You can go deeper into this topic in our article: “Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection”

3. Work self-knowledge

When we talk about mental control we are referring to emotional regulation and therefore behavior. And you cannot talk about emotional regulation if there is no prior understanding of our emotions.. That is why self-knowledge is necessary to be able to control the mind and regulate our behavior..

• In our article “Self-awareness: 8 tips to improve it” you can learn to improve this very important ability.

4. Improve your emotional intelligence

Self-awareness is an important aspect of emotional intelligence, but This type of intelligence also includes other abilities that help regulate our behavior.For example, empathy and the ability to understand the emotions of others.

• To improve our mental control, it is an interesting option to attend an emotional intelligence workshop like the ones that appear on this list: “The 6 best Emotional Intelligence and Personal Development courses”

5. Don't live on autopilot

In the time in which we live and due to how the mind works, we can live on automatic pilot, that is, we go through the world without paying attention to anything. Our thoughts jump from one place to another and we rarely stop to observe or understand them.

We can get up in the morning, turn on the TV and not even know what our breakfast tastes like. We can get in the shower and not even feel the water coming out of it. For greater mental control, it is necessary to stop living on autopilot and experience the present experience with observation and mindfulness.

6. Be conscious

And this is achieved by being aware of our experience, whether external or internal.. The key many times is the will to want to be aware. For example, we can be talking to someone and be thinking carefully about what we are going to say even before the person has finished speaking. another, or we can observe the other interlocutor carefully not only in terms of what he verbalizes, but also what his non-verbal language tells us. says.

Being mindful helps us control our mind. In this sense, controlling the mind is an act of the will.

7. meditate

Many people have the belief that the meditation It is simply a relaxation technique, in which you only need to put yourself in the meditator's posture and our mind will go blank.

But meditation, although it is true that it quiets the mind and relaxes us, allows us to observe our thoughts or our experiences (even unpleasant, as in the case of TongLen meditation) and accept the experience. This makes us much more balanced people and helps us improve our capacity for mental control.

8. Practice Mindfulness

Although some people think that Mindfulness is a type of meditation, it is not exactly like that. It is true that Mindfulness includes meditation in its practice, but it also includes other techniques that help develop attention, compassion, the ability to be in the moment present, the non-judgmental mentality and other characteristic principles of Mindfulness.

as the psychologist says Jonathan Garcia-Allen in our article “Mindfulness: 8 benefits of mindfulness”, “Full Attention proposes to find the essence of who we are. It is not simply a method to improve well-being, but it can become a philosophy of life that helps us to relate better and in a more adaptive way with ourselves and what surrounds us (people, events, situations, etc.)".

9. When you see that you lose control... stop for 1 minute!

A technique that can be very useful in many situations and that does not require more than a minute to practice is the one-minute meditation. This technique is ideal, for example, when we are in the office and we feel saturated, or when we want to take perspective of a situation that is affecting us (a fight with a partner, for example).

Below you can find a video that explains how to perform this exercise:

10. Develop yourself and avoid feeling frustrated

People who are happier with what they do in their lives and feel fulfilled are more likely to relate better to other people, since feel good about themselves and are not frustrated with who they are.

Frustration generates conflicts with other people, because we can project our failures on them, and we can even turn other individuals into our scapegoat. Being well with yourself helps to see the future clearly and continue in the same line without deviating.

11. Get out of the comfort zone

It is also good to stimulate our mind to get out of the comfort zone to learn new things and be more aware of other situations that perhaps go unnoticed when we always do the same thing.

12. do new activities

And this also includes doing new activities and discovering new tasks that we are not used to.. By doing this we put aside the automatisms and therefore mobilize all our attention and our resources, we become more present and more aware.

13. have a life plan

To enjoy greater emotional health as well it is necessary to have a life plan, because the objectives help us to continue on the path we want and we will suffer less from some temptations that may appear on our way.

In addition, other goals can also help us maintain mental control. For example, if we practice physical exercise and follow a diet because we want to achieve a slim body. Research shows that having clear, realistic, and motivating goals also helps prevent depression.

14. Reduce stress

The mind and body are connected and, therefore, stress can cause many problems both in our body as in our behaviors or thoughts. It's hard to think clearly when we're stressed, especially if we're feeling burned out.

Sadness or anxiety can take over us, and our concentration and also our mental control suffer. In times of stress, for example, people are unable to control their eating habits. For greater mental control, it is good to enjoy greater well-being.