Our mind tells us comfort equals safety. Our mind tells us what is certain is preferred over what is uncertain. Our mind has been conditioned to aspire to small insignificant progress or worse, to tolerate periods of extreme complacency.

Our mind, left to its own primal patterns will lead us to live pathetic lives that neither inspire nor fulfill us. The mind must be guided by the spirit and only then can we reach our higher aspirations and fulfill our higher purpose. Here’s a little experiment you can do to prove to yourself the mind’s agenda often deviates from the spirit’s intention; for seven days, try something as simple as installing one life enhancing pattern consistently without interruptions or succumbing to your excuses. What you are likely to discover is the unruly child-mind throwing its tantrum, holding its breath, scowling at your with contempt because you, Spirit, have the audacity to ask it to change for your greater good.

When I was a child, I use to have tantrums, too. I distinctly remember falling out in the parking lot of Robert Hall’s Department Store and my mother, a creative disciplinarian who specialized in unexpected responses to unacceptable behavior, told me to get up because they were leaving, with or without me. She and my sisters walked to the car, got in, and proceeded to pull slowly out of the parking lot. I was totally shocked. I stopped crying, I got up and quickly proceeded to the car as they opened the car door to let me in. Tantrum over, mission accomplished.

The mind is a child. Its intelligence will always include some primal remnants that equate change to death, discomfort to death, and discipline to death. It must be trained and given guidance by a loving but firm spirit in order to fulfill its true purpose.

Are you going to let the child rule you, refuse to grow, spend its life staying small, safe, and unfulfilled? You, Spirit, are the only parent it has. Do your job and all will be well.

Here are five simple exercises you can do to train your mind to be at your service:

1. Take on a small project that requires some level of discipline that you would normally not bring to the table. Complete the project successfully.

2. Eliminate a counter-productive habit that you are addicted to, such as drinking coffee, hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock, not drinking sufficient quantities of water, etc.

3. Read about the true nature of addiction and discover your own and how it is ruining your life then decide, fully aware of the consequences, if you will continue done that path and every time you indulge remind yourself of the consequences you are choosing.

4. Observe other people living chaotic, problematic lives and then own up to where you are also doing the same thing.

5. Do a 12-month survey and note your biggest accomplishments, now discover how you did it and how you can transfer some knowledge and wisdom to other areas of your life to produce equally stellar results.