From experience, I can say with certainty that there are close quarters onboard U.S. Naval vessels, especially in the passageways. When someone needs to get by quickly, or for emergency purposes, the phrase they say rather loudly is: “Make a hole.”

Our mind is like a tiny cabin off of a busy passageway. In order for something new to get into to it, we have to make a space for it.

Our objective is to replace that which is in place, and the way to do that is by making a space.

Without getting overly technical, the passageway from the port side of our brain to the starboard side has lots of traffic every second - 200 Million bits of awareness. In order for a new thought to get from that passageway into the limited cabin space of our mind (only 7 bits), we have to make a space.

That means something has to go in order for something new to get in. We need to replace something.

The replacement method we consciously use never works. It’s sort of like the fallacy of positive thinking. You attempt to replace a specific “bad” thought with a specific “good” one. The way to validate that positive thinking doesn’t work is to just look at your experience with it and notice that it never works for you. Perhaps, it’s just for other people.

The way to allow something new into your mind is by clearing your mind, not dictating what should pop out or in.

Mind clearing begins by mind quieting. When your mind is quiet, there is no longer a chatterbox in there telling you what needs to be replaced. This tranquil space is where the magic happens.

There is a part of you that knows what’s in your best interest. How many times have you gotten warnings from this part of you that saved you doing something that would have been plain awful? This part of your mind becomes activated when you get quiet. It naturally knows what to discard and what to let in. The results of its work are the “ah-ha” moments you receive.

A day without quiet reflection is like a day without sunshine. Our thoughts are clouding out our brilliance.

If you are being hounded by a nagging, unproductive thought, you are not alone. Everyone has them. Attempting to replace that thought consciously is an exercise in futility, with the only outcome being keeping that thought in place.

If you want to get through the replacement process more quickly, take a suggestion from a former Navy man: MAKE A HOLE!

All the best,

John