
Many people experience unwanted thoughts that disrupt focus and cause anxiety. If these thoughts persist, they can have a lasting negative impact.
As a lonely teenager at a residential school, I recognized the intrusive nature of my thoughts and realized I needed a way to tame the wildness of my mind.
Do you ever find that your mind is filled with unimportant thoughts that persist as if they are destined to rule your life? If yes, you need to learn to control your thoughts.
This article outlines three simple steps to regain mental control and lead a calmer, more peaceful life.
Key Takeaways
- Recognize that excessive thoughts are normal but can disrupt peace
- Know that controlling thoughts enhances life but takes practice
- Embrace mindfulness to silence unhelpful thoughts
- Employ action words to cultivate a calming habit for your mind
- Discover how meditation and prayer enhance your calm
Contents
What Causes Unwanted Thoughts?
- Why Constant Thinking
- Why Loud Thoughts
- Primary Causes
Why Can’t You Stop Thinking?
The brain often keeps thinking even when not doing anything. It works on both conscious and unconscious levels.
When you’re resting or not concentrating on something specific, the brain’s default mode network becomes active.
This network helps you think about yourself, remember the past, imagine what could happen in the future, and understand your social interactions. It’s how your mind processes experiences, solves problems, and maintains a sense of identity.
Even when doing nothing, your brain is busy organizing memories, thinking about options, or dealing with unresolved feelings.
This continuous activity is normal and an important part of your mind. But it can sometimes feel too much. Constantly dwelling on specific thoughts can trap the mind in a repetitive cycle, hindering the ability to embrace new perspectives.

Why are Thoughts Sometimes So Loud?
The human mind is a powerful machine gifted by Nature. But, at times, it can become overactive and out of control with excessive thoughts.
Strong thoughts often come from increased mental activity caused by stress, anxiety, or strong emotions.
When the brain sees a situation as important or threatening, it boosts internal dialogue to help think things through or prepare for what’s ahead. This can make these thoughts seem very overwhelming. Not getting enough sleep can make these thoughts even stronger.
When the brain perceives a situation as significant, it amplifies internal dialogue to prepare for what lies ahead; these thoughts can often feel overwhelming. Share on XYou may feel your thoughts as loud if you focus too much on the thoughts themselves, creating a cycle that’s hard to break.
Other factors that can keep your mind racing include:
- mental clutter (when there are too many thoughts),
- too much stimulation (when nervous activity increases), or
- fear of the unknown (due to lack of information or control).
The Primary Causes of Unwanted Thoughts
Our brain may think things we don’t want it to. Unwanted or intrusive thoughts often come from how our brains work, shaped by our biology, mind, and surroundings.

- Biologically, an overly active amygdala, the part of the brain that handles emotions like fear, or an imbalance of chemicals like serotonin (known as a “feel-good hormone”), can lead to these intrusive thoughts.
- On a psychological level, experiencing high stress, anxiety, or unresolved trauma can make it easier for our minds to create unwanted thoughts. Cognitive biases, like overthinking or expecting negative outcomes, also contribute to this issue.
- External situations that remind us of past fears or memories can trigger these thoughts. For example, seeing a location, hearing a particular song, or smelling something familiar can bring back such memories or fears.
- Internal issues, such as tiredness, hormonal shifts, or being overly critical of ourselves, can make us more likely to experience these thoughts. Patterns of thinking, like worrying too much or trying hard to avoid certain ideas, can also make those thoughts stick around even longer.
- You may also have unwanted thoughts due to your loneliness, long-term or temporary.
Ultimately, unwanted thoughts are often the brain’s way of understanding uncertainty or dealing with curiosity, unresolved feelings, or perceived dangers, even if this process feels uncomfortable or unsettling.
Benefits of Controlling Your Mind
- Excessive Thoughts are Harmful
- Is it Possible to Control Them?
- Key Benefits
How are Excessive Thoughts Harmful?
Winds are essential for controlling the weather, but when they reach high speeds, they can cause destruction. Similarly, thoughts, which can be seen as mental winds, are fundamental to our minds and essential for our lives. They help us make decisions and experience positive emotions.
However, when thoughts become excessive, they become unhealthy.
If excessive thoughts are not managed, they can disrupt our peace of mind. As someone said, overthinking is one of the main causes of unhappiness.
If the unwanted thoughts conflict with beliefs or highlight worst-case scenarios, they may evoke fear or guilt. For those with conditions like OCD or anxiety, such thoughts can become persistent and disrupt daily life.
Overthinking as a habit of mind can have an impact in the form of a low body mass index. The brain is the part of our body that consumes the most energy; if it overworks, you can imagine how much it leaves for the rest of the body including the muscles and the skin.
Overthinking can be the situation for long, or in such adverse conditions, that it can result in depression.

So, if your mind thinks excess, you should get the beast tamed. Otherwise the loss of time and health, to a varying extent, is certain to happen to you.
But is it possible to manage your thoughts? Do intrusive thoughts ever go away? Can you stop certain thoughts selectively?
Is It Possible to Control Overthinking?
- When to manage thoughts
If you are prone to overthinking, you can fight for the peaceful moments you deeply deserve. Do not surrender to unwanted thoughts. Your life’s wellness and well-being lie in the fight.
You can overcome the above mentally challenging situations, manage unnecessary thoughts and feelings, and achieve greater peace of mind! Unlike the free flow of winds, you can control and minimize your thoughts. With time, your mind can become accustomed to focusing only on essential thoughts.
You can control and minimize your thoughts, training your mind to focus only on what is essential. Share on XState of mind when you should manage your thoughts
You do not always need to control your thoughts for peace of mind.
Normally there are three types of mental states concerning thoughts:
- Thinking of new ideas or planning an activity
It is just a normal brain activity to perform its duty. These thoughts can take your life forward. Just complete a thought to make the related decision or write the ideas down. - Thinking naturally and lightly
With this, you waste no energy. Light thoughts are good as they can make you smile, feel confident, or relax. - Thinking without any purpose or worrying
Worrying draws you into excessive or negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and wastes time and energy. Such useless thinking and negative emotions can make you anxious, annoyed, or even depressed, among other negative effects.
Only in the third state of mind should you cease the negativity or attempt to control your thoughts for peace of mind.
Are there any benefits of controlling the intrusive thoughts? Does consciously doing so make your mind peaceful?
Key Benefits of Being Able to Control Your Thoughts
Controlling your thoughts is a powerful skill that can greatly improve your life.

- If you can stop your excess thinking, you save a lot of mental energy. This energy is then diverted to other essential uses for the body, resulting in better health and a greater personality over time.
- When you reduce overthinking, you stop giving further space to negative thoughts. Also, by taking charge of your mind, you can decide what to think about and how to respond to situations. If you’re caught up in negative thoughts, you can choose to change your outlook and see things more positively.
- When your thoughts become less pessimistic, your sadness, stress, and anxiety also reduce. Embracing a more positive mindset enables you to release concerns, nurturing a sense of calmness.
- Shifting away from negative self-talk helps build a stronger belief in yourself and you feel more confident managing whatever comes your way.
- You’ll become more resilient when facing challenges, look at setbacks positively, and stay hopeful during tough times.
- If worry about the future is consuming you, you can remind yourself to stay in the present. Although it can be tough and requires practice, developing this skill can lead to significant benefits. Staying in the present enhances your concentration power, and focusing better on your goals allows you to complete more tasks efficiently.
- Positivity in your thoughts can make you more creative, sparking new ideas and innovations.
- Keeping your thoughts in check helps you control your emotions, better deal with challenges, and make smarter and more informed choices.
- Your relationships may also improve as you learn to respond thoughtfully instead of impulsively.
- Even better, you can focus on joy, gratitude, and contentment, creating a happier and more peaceful life.
We have an incredible ability to control our thoughts, which can lead us to feel more fulfilled in life. By learning how to manage our minds, we can find a deeper satisfaction.
But how can you stop the mind from racing? How can you control intrusive thoughts immediately? How can you stop thinking about something that bothers you?
This step-by-step guide will teach you effective techniques for calming your mind and managing unwanted thoughts.
The three steps of an efficient process of making your mind a less-thinking machine are:
- Understand Your Thoughts To Manage Them
- Practice Mindfulness to Control Your Mind
- Tame Your Mind by Practicing the 3 Mantras
1) Understand Your Thoughts To Manage Them
- Nature of Thoughts
- They affect emotions
- Thought Patterns
Understand the Nature of Thoughts
- What are they?
- Everyone experiences them
- They are not facts
What are your thoughts?
Your thoughts reflect what’s happening in your mind. They include ideas, memories, judgments, imaginations, and reflections. Thoughts are influenced by your experiences, emotions, and knowledge, and they help you understand and interpret the world.
Some thoughts are clear and intentional. For example, when you have a problem, you think actively about solving it. On the other hand, some thoughts happen automatically and effortlessly. Daydreaming is one example, where your mind drifts and creates scenarios unrelated to your current setting.
These thoughts shape how you see things, make decisions, and take action, linking your inner feelings to the outside world.

Everyone experiences unwanted thoughts
Thoughts are a normal part of how our brains handle information, feelings, and experiences, and everyone sometimes faces unwanted or intrusive thoughts. These random ideas or images can seem odd, irrelevant, or upsetting. They happen because our brains are always busy, working through memories, solving issues, or preparing for what might come next.
Having these unwanted thoughts doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you; they are just a natural result of how our minds operate. Recognizing that everyone has these kinds of thoughts and that they often don’t mean anything can help lessen their emotional weight.
Unwanted thoughts are normal and don't signify a problem. Recognizing their commonness and insignificance can lessen their emotional impact. Share on XThoughts are not facts
Thoughts and reality are different. Thoughts are how our minds interpret and perceive things, while reality involves actual events and facts that exist independently.
Our thoughts can often be colored by personal feelings or biases, which may not accurately reflect what is. For instance, worrying about the worst that could happen or doubting yourself doesn’t make those worries true.
Understanding that your thoughts aren’t always facts allows you to create space in your mind. This lets you question negative or unhelpful thoughts instead of simply believing them. Knowing this difference can help you respond to situations more thoughtfully and effectively.
Recognizing that your thoughts are not always true clears your mind and helps you respond more thoughtfully and effectively. Share on XHow do thoughts affect emotions and actions?
The thoughts we focus on can affect how we feel and see the world. They significantly influence our emotions and behaviors by determining how we perceive and respond to different scenarios.

Our thoughts are of two main types: positive and negative.
Positive thoughts brighten our day, like saying to ourselves,
- “I can do this!” or
- “Today will be great!”
Positive thinking can result in pleasant emotions like joy and self-assurance, motivating us to act and chase our dreams.
On the other hand, negative thoughts can bring us down. They are like,
- “I’m not good enough” or
- “Things will go wrong.”
Negative thinking may evoke emotions such as anxiety, sorrow, or anger, often leading us to shy away from situations or react hastily.
This may create a cycle with your feelings making your thoughts stronger and both of them shaping your actions.
By becoming aware of and managing your thoughts, you can cultivate healthier emotions and more intentional actions.
In the following sections (about the methods to control your thoughts), you’ll learn how to train your mind to stop focusing on negative thoughts. And, you’ll find out how to change any negative idea into something positive. You might be surprised by how much better this can make you feel.
Identify Your Thought Patterns
- Why be aware of them?
- Common unhelpful patterns
Why should you be aware of your thought patterns?
Noticing how you think can greatly improve how you handle your mind and feelings.
When you start to watch the thoughts that often pop up in your mind, it’s like turning on a light to see what’s happening inside.
You may find that many of your thoughts are negative, critical, anxious, or just unhelpful. Perhaps you often imagine the worst possible outcomes or keep replaying stressful moments.
The important thing is that once you become aware of these thought patterns, you can take action to change them. You can challenge unhelpful thoughts and rethink them more positively.
With practice, you can guide your mind toward healthier ideas. Over time, this can change how you think, leading to better overall well-being and peace of mind.

It all begins with that vital first step: simply noticing what goes on in your mind daily. Remember, you can’t change what you don’t see. Being aware of your thoughts is the first step toward significant personal growth.
Recognize these unhelpful thought patterns
We often get stuck in negative thinking without examining the facts. These common negative thought patterns or cognitive distortions can affect our feelings. Take a moment to see if you notice yourself thinking this way. If you do, recognizing and changing your perspective might help.
- Catastrophizing (or magnification) is one major pattern that means we exaggerate situations, like our mistakes or someone else’s success, and expect the worst, even when it’s not likely to happen.
- Minimization is the opposite, it refers to downplaying situations, such as our positive traits or someone else’s flaws, until they appear insignificant.
- All-or-Nothing Thinking: Another issue is seeing things in black and white, like thinking “I always fail” or “I can never do anything right.” We view things as good or bad, ignoring the gray areas in between. We regard ourselves as a complete failure if our results are anything less than flawless.
- Emotional Reasoning means when we believe our negative feelings are facts, like “I feel worthless, so I must be worthless.”
- Overgeneralizing is also a problem; it happens when we take one bad moment or quality and think it applies to everything. We make broad statements, such as “I messed up once, so I’ll always mess up.” We believe we’re a complete failure after just one mistake.
- Labeling is extreme overgeneralization when we describe a situation with exaggerated, emotional language. Rather than simply stating what went wrong, we call ourselves a “failure”. When someone else acts in a way that bothers us, we might call them “selfish.”
- Jumping to conclusions is similar, it involves assuming we know what others are thinking or what will happen next. We draw a negative conclusion that someone is responding unfavorably toward us, without taking the time to verify the assumption.
- Should Statements: We also get caught up in “shoulds” and “musts,” holding ourselves or others to strict and unrealistic expectations and feeling bad when they are unmet. This can lead to guilt, anger, or frustration.
- Mental filtering helps focus solely on one negative aspect of a situation and overlook the good. This allows the negative one to dominate our thoughts and overshadow our entire perception.
- Personalization means we take things too personally and blame ourselves for a negative event, that, in reality, we were not mainly responsible for. We take on the burden of things we can’t change.
Recognizing these harmful thought patterns is the first step toward challenging and replacing them with healthier ways of thinking.
Reflect on your thoughts. Recognizing any negative pattern is the first step toward replacing it with a healthier perspective. Share on XDo you want to manage such thought patterns and feelings? Mindfulness can help. It’s simpler than it seems. You can practice it anytime and anywhere with a few basic exercises.
2) Embrace Mindfulness to Control Your Mind
- What mindfulness means
- It removes unwanted thoughts
- Other benefits
What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness means paying attention to the present moment with curiosity and no judgment. It’s about noticing your thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and surroundings as they are, without worrying about the future or thinking much about the past.
As you do not label your thoughts as good or bad, it’s like being a neutral observer of your life.
Focusing on the present—through mindful breathing or being aware of your surroundings—allows you to break free from the constant chatter in your mind.
With your mind fully in the present, you truly engage in whatever you’re doing now, whether enjoying a tasty meal, listening intently to a friend, or even doing something routine like washing dishes.
How does mindfulness help detach from unwanted thoughts?
Mindfulness helps you step back from unwanted thoughts by encouraging observation without judgment.
This shift in perspective diminishes the intensity of those thoughts, breaking the cycle of overthinking and emotional responses. You can decide how to respond instead of reacting without thinking.
Focusing on the present creates a gap between yourself and your thoughts. Instead of getting caught up in or fighting against intrusive thoughts, mindfulness teaches you to observe them from a distance and view them as temporary and fleeting, similar to clouds drifting by.
Mindfulness enables you to observe thoughts without judgment, recognize them as temporary, and respond thoughtfully. Share on XWith practice, mindfulness enhances your ability to release unhelpful thoughts and keeps your mind calmer and clearer.
Other benefits of mindfulness
- Mental & emotional
- Physical
- Social
- Overall well-being
Mindfulness involves maintaining present-moment awareness in all aspects of daily life and being aware of what happens inside and around you. Regular mindfulness practice can significantly benefit your mind, body, and relationships, contributing to overall well-being.
Mental and emotional benefits:
Focusing on the present moment reduces stress and anxiety by minimizing worries about the future and overthinking the past. It allows you to observe your thoughts and feelings without feeling overwhelmed, which enhances your focus, memory, and thinking skills.
Mindfulness also improves emotional control by helping you manage your responses and reactions. Additionally, it boosts resilience by strengthening your ability to face challenges and helps break negative thought patterns, which can reduce symptoms of depression.
Furthermore, mindfulness enhances self-awareness by increasing your understanding of thoughts and feelings.

Physical benefits:
Physically, mindfulness can help lower blood pressure by easing stress-related tension. It also improves sleep quality by reducing restlessness and promoting relaxation.
Additionally, mindfulness lowers inflammation associated with stress and boosts the immune system. It may relieve chronic pain by enhancing pain management through increased awareness.
Social and interpersonal benefits:
Mindfulness fosters better presence and relational engagement by promoting improved listening, clearer communication, and greater empathy. It can also reduce conflict by encouraging calm responses in challenging situations.
Overall well-being:
The above benefits contribute to overall wellness by promoting calmness and creating a sense of inner peace. Furthermore, mindfulness encourages gratitude by helping you appreciate the present moment, supports mental health, and reduces the risk of emotional burnout.
After understanding how mindfulness can help you distract yourself from uncomfortable or disturbing thoughts, it’s time to implement it in your daily life.
Remember, you should control your thoughts when your mind overthinks, not when it thinks normally to perform its duty.
2a) Use ‘Focus’ to Control Your Thoughts
- It’s the basic tool
- Use SBS techniques
- Or, develop your way
Focusing – The Basic Tool of Mindfulness

Mindful practices can help you take control of your thoughts, beginning with the essential step: being fully present without judgment. Use the natural tool of focusing on anything to be fully present in the moment.
If excess thoughts are troublesome, Nature has given us all a tool to manage them – ‘focusing or paying attention’ to anything in the present moment.
Focusing on an object, sound or sensation helps your mind come to the present moment and thus be quiet and peaceful. It is a great practical way to weaken and remove unwanted or excessive thoughts.
With a disciplined use of this aid over some time, you can decelerate the thinking process. Or even learn to stop it, at least for a moment.
While this idea seems straightforward, it requires practice.
Use the SBS Techniques to Focus on the Present
- Using sight
- Using breath
- Using sound
When I first understood the importance of being in the present, I started to control my overthinking rawly by focusing on the things around me and whispering their names.
Now, as and when required, I use the refined techniques of SBS (Sight, Breath, and Sound) to focus on the present. You can also use them to help yourself to the present moment and control worries and negative or excessive thinking.
1) Using sight
Focus on a thing in front of you or with you. Observe it like a child. Call its name or describe it silently to yourself. This way you bring your attention to the thing and thus be in the present moment.
Shift your attention to another thing the same way. You can continue to shift your focus on different things, with gaps as per your comfort.
2) Using breath
Another approach is to concentrate on breathing, observing each inhale and exhale. When your thoughts drift away (which is natural), gently guide your focus back to your breathing.

Closing your eyes, focus on the inhaling and exhaling of your breath. On air, as it goes in and out through your nostrils. Or as it fills and empties your belly or chest and makes them rise and fall. You can start counting this breath movement, and continue up to a number as per your comfort. Thus you shift your attention away from your thoughts and come to the present moment.
3) Using sound
Keep your eyes closed, and focus on one of the few sounds you hear, from near or afar. Then shift the focus to another sound. Then maybe to another. Float your attention slowly over these sounds, moving them from one sound to another as they occur or become audible. If a single sound is continuous, stay with it for some time as per your comfort.
If done with interest and correctly, The above SBS focus exercise can break the cycle of unrequired thoughts. It is, in fact, a way of meditation. It can gift you much-needed peace of mind during the exercise and thereafter. If this exercise is repeated daily or for most days over a long period, it weakens or breaks the wasteful overthinking habit of your mind. In other words, your mind gets into a habit of less thinking.
Or, Develop Your Flexible Way of Focusing
- An example
Simple exercises like focusing on your breath, noticing your surroundings, or paying attention to your body can help center your mind and clear away distractions. You can easily fit these exercises into your daily routine, whether you have a quiet moment or are doing everyday tasks like walking, eating, brushing your teeth, or doing the dishes.
An effective practice is mindful walking. Focus on how your feet touch the ground with each step. Take a moment to notice your surroundings—what you see, hear, and smell. Embrace all these experiences.
You can take short moments throughout your day to check in with yourself. Try to stay fully engaged in a moment. With time, being present can become second nature. This skill is valuable; it can help reduce stress, improve focus and productivity, and enhance your overall life experience.
Focus on sight, sound, or breath during daily tasks like walking. With practice, presence becomes natural. Share on XAn example of using focus for mindfulness
You can find your unique way of focusing while exercising daily.

For instance, I found this one very useful:
One Sunday morning, I used alternate running and walking to help me focus and stay present.
I ran slowly along a track, using a point ahead as my target. Once I reached that point, I switched to walking when I found another sight mark to aim for. Afterward, I would run again to the next point on the track.
Alternating between running and walking, while keeping my attention on the markers ahead, provided a good workout and helped me concentrate on the moment. I felt great satisfaction in discovering this new and effective method!
3) Tame Your Overthinking Mind by Practicing Three Mantras
- The Three Commands
- How They Help
- Guided Meditation, Prayer
The Three Commands to Your Mind
- ‘In Present’
- ‘Think Not’
- ‘Relaxed’
You can tame your overthinking mind to think only of the essentials. Training your mind continuously to focus on where your body is right now can help you automatically control your thoughts and be more peaceful.
The following three mantras, created for my personal use when I was young, can help you automatically make your mind more peaceful over time. They are simple words you speak to your mind, again and again, to get a change as simple as their literal meanings.
1. ‘In Present’
This command tells your mind to ‘Be In The Present’ – it should stop loitering in the past or the future.
Say to yourself silently, ‘In Present’. Simultaneously bring your mind to the present literally. To help yourself better, you can use one of the three methods of SBS, Sight, Breath, and Sound, as described above, to focus on the present.
You can try the reverse if you have too many failures in achieving the desired state of mind using the above command despite being persistent enough.
When you are mentally present naturally, say to yourself, ‘In Present’. You would have to monitor yourself to be aware of when the state of your mind is so (in the present).

2. ‘Think Not’
This command tells your mind to ‘Stop Thinking Extra’.
Essential thoughts won’t be stopped due to their power to help you somehow. Moreover, since you know you are thinking the needful, you won’t use the command in the first place.
You say to yourself silently, ‘Think Not’. The purpose of this command is the same as that of the ‘In Present’ command. You need it because sometimes the first one may not work to your expectations. The useless thoughts may not subside with the first mantra, so a variation is required. You then need a second weapon to kill the enemy.
3. ‘Relaxed’
This mantra serves the ultimate purpose of making your mind what the word means, i.e. relaxed or at peace. To accomplish this purpose in the initial stages of practice, you should succeed with the first two commands.
Quietly say to yourself the word ‘Relaxed’, with your eyes closed or otherwise. Simultaneously make your mind relaxed. You must feel your nerves and neurons loosen to turn you from tense to calm.
The above three commands are instant actions. For instance, you should be relaxed instantly, not ‘try to’ relax.
Here’s the summary:
- In Present (starting phrase)
Keep in the present, by focusing on the things, outside or within yourself. - Think Not (supporting phrase)
A subtle way to weed out unnecessary thoughts. - Relaxed (ultimate word)
Keep the mind relaxed, loosening brain nerves and neurons.
How Do the Three Mantras Help?
To control the wildness in your mind, you need a habit that calms it down whenever it’s overactive – a habit that helps you ensure your mind is thinking constructively by weeding out any extra or useless thoughts in a moment.
Practicing the three mantras daily helps you evolve the above habit of mind. These commands act as action words to bring your mind into desired conditions.
Repeating this process over time develops a subconscious relationship between an action word (‘In Present’, ‘Think Not’, or ‘Relaxed’) and the desired condition it signifies (being present, devoid of useless thoughts related to the past or future, and feeling relaxed respectively).
A requirement to succeed is your willpower. Having a good routine facilitates the process.
You can also have your own set of words/ phrases, in place of the above ones, to represent the three mantras and practice them as explained above. Like, you can use the words from your native language. It’s completely your field to play on and succeed.
With practice, you will observe increasing ease of your mind coming to the desired inter-connected conditions. Maybe one day just uttering any of these commands relaxes your mind.
The three mantras/ commands help you cultivate an effortlessly present, clear, and calm mind. Share on XSupport the Mind’s Calming Habit with Guided Meditation and Prayer
I have been using guided meditation and a basic prayer (‘naam-jap’ as I call it for myself) to enhance the effectiveness of the above-described SBS techniques and the three mantras.

It’s not that I have transformed into a completely serene person by using these practices. However, they have helped me to calm my mind and played a crucial role in managing my mild depression in my late forties and early fifties.
I incorporated guided meditation and prayer into my daily routine at a pace and style that suited me.
They become vital in helping me stay motivated and excited about my life. They provided a steady foundation that kept me moving forward.
While I still face challenges, I feel better equipped to handle them. These practices shaped a more positive outlook and a renewed energy in my life.
Guided meditation deepens self-awareness, while prayer provides uplifting spiritual support.
Both encourage mindfulness and powerfully calm the mind by:
- drawing your focus, minimizing distractions, and grounding you in the present,
- fostering emotional balance by cultivating peace and gratitude and reducing anxiety.
Begin your journey with small practices tailored to your lifestyle, and strive for consistency to unlock lasting calm and focus.
You can repeat any short prayer in your mind (even if you are an atheist). The pious words, when spoken without judgment, can calm your mind. I learned my simple prayer from my parents during childhood and used it later in life to find inner peace.
I like and use the free version of ‘Insight Timer‘ android app for guided meditation. After immersing myself in the wisdom of spiritual teachers, I now find deep relaxation through the soothing sounds of Sonic Yogi’s recording of singing bowls.
Conclusion: Take the First Step Today to Master Your Mind
You may find your mind filled with trivial thoughts. Even if you’re healthy, overthinking can quietly disrupt your calm. Without any major issue like a relationship or legal battle, your mind might still dwell on past events, future worries, or imagined scenarios.
Understanding and managing the mind’s unrestrained thinking is crucial for maximizing the richness of life’s experiences and achieving fulfillment.
Remember that you can take control of your mind and navigate toward clarity and purpose.
In this comprehensive blog post, we have discussed the causes of our unwanted thoughts, the benefits of controlling them, and the following three simple steps to calm your mind:
- Understanding your thoughts, how they affect us, and their patterns,
- Using mindfulness with focus as its basic tool, SBS techniques, and how you can develop your flexible way of it, and
- Practicing the three commands to your mind to control your thoughts – supported by prayer and guided meditation.
If practiced regularly and properly, a day comes when the three mental commands become your life-long assets. In conjunction with the SBS techniques of Focus, you can use these mantras to soothe your mind when overwhelmed by negative or excessive thoughts. This becomes a powerful way to make your mind peaceful.
When calming your mind, It’s important to choose the techniques that resonate with you. You can also alternate between them.
For example, you might start by reciting your short prayer in your free time. After doing this a few times, you can switch to one of your mental commands. Then, take a moment to focus on your surroundings, silently naming the things you see in your mind.
Controlling your thoughts and calming your mind is a skill that requires time, patience, and consistent practice to develop. Share on XBe kind to yourself and celebrate small wins along the way.
Take the first step today to regain control of your mind with these strategies and experience greater focus and calm in your life. All the best!
I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this topic—feel free to share them in the comments below!

My blog assists you in navigating life’s challenges with clarity and confidence. As someone in my fifties with diverse experiences who has overcome unique emotional hurdles, I share insights to guide you toward a fulfilling life. Read More