mindmodder
the podcast

Preparing for the new programme Step up to Your SELF, more than ever have I looked into the topic of mindset - of course - as always - in a professional as well as in a private context. This time, however, I also looked into it against the background of where our thoughts actually come from, what they do to us, why so many (most!) of them are so negative, how we can cope and what we can do against that.

Spoiler: there are numerous studies which prove, that a vast number of our fears can be traced back to our genes! This means they are neither "learnt" nor "taught", but truly inherited. No wonder we often can't even identify them...

On average, we think 60.000 thoughts a day, 80% of which are negative. No new learnings probably, but still startling if you ask me. What also might not really be new, in this case maybe even less surprising: 95% of our thoughts are old thoughts. But here's the thing: If we combine these two findings, it shows that only 1% of all of our thoughts are new AND positive - pretty incredible, isn't it?

What we also know is that the reason for us focusing on the negative so much has it's roots in evolution (saber-toothed tiger vs rainbow in front of our cave - what shall we focus on in order to survive?).

If we are lucky to live outside war zones or disaster areas, the number of "real" threats have decreased drastically in our lives, however the "perceived" threats have even increased if we take into account our automatic negative thoughts. We consciously and unconsciously expose ourselves to an unnecessary amount of stress.

The question we may consequently ask ourselves: Can we sustainably change the way we think? Can we quiet this annoying, negative, omnipresent voice in our heads? This "voice" has come to be called bullshit radio. However, because of the fact that many of these thoughts are actually as old as humankind itself, I name it cacophonograph (cacophony = dissonance, phonograph = the oldest sound recording apparatus)

I believe the best way to do this is to turn on something else but our cacophonograph. The eupohonostream so to speak, sticking with this analogy - actually one could also call it a podcast 😜. Of course, there are more than enough out there already, however, I personally find many of them too theoretical, long-winded, or also stodgy (because of being too complex or even more often just too long). My approach: A podcast, short and concise, except for a few exceptions not much longer than 5 minutes, sometimes easygoing, sometimes serious - but always offering an impulse - something to think about, a stimulus for change.

One of my most valued conversational partners when it comes to personal growth is Armin Rogl, former radio moderator, founder and owner of the social media agency Media Brothers. At one point we decided to record some of our talks - the hour of birth of our mindmodder Podcast. We very much enjoy recording it and hope that we can provide some valuable impulses for our listeners. (The podcast is in German (actually Austrian ;-))

mindmodder. Today's a good day to have a good day.