Episode 5: You’re Always Practicing Something

So Be Careful What You Practice

What you repeat becomes your reality. This episode reminds us that every moment is a form of practice — and that includes worry, judgment, or compassion.
Dr. Gelbart explores how bringing awareness to our mental ‘rehearsals’ gives us the power to change them.

Tags: habits, neuroplasticity, mindfulness, emotional awareness, self-reflection

Hashtags: #DailyPractice #MindfulnessInAction

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🧠 Created by Dr. Jerry Gelbart | © 2025 All rights reserved

How to train your brain.

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✨ Thanks for listening to The Potent Mind.


🎧 Subscribe for weekly insights on mindfulness, neuroplasticity, and conscious living.


🌐 Learn more and access free resources at www.thepotentmind.com


🧠 Created by Dr. Jerry Gelbart | © 2025 All rights reserved

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he
who humbles himself will beexalted.
Jesus.
Luke 14.11 If our perceptionsare accurate, then our emotions
are probably justified.
However, our perceptions aren'talways accurate.

(00:22):
They're clouded by our years ofprogramming and biases by our
parents, peers, teachers,clergy, media, and government,
to name a few.
For most of us, our biases andjudgments are so much a part of
us that we don't see them.
In addition to what's being putinto our head by others, our
thinking is strongly skewed bythe meanings and beliefs that we

(00:42):
came up with to interpret whathappened to us along the way.
As a child, we feel rejected atsome point, and we think it
means that we're not goodenough, or that we don't belong.
To a child, the world is blackand white.
You're good or bad, okay or notokay.
These childhood interpretationsand beliefs stick.

(01:04):
They tend to run our life behindthe scenes, causing us to shoot
ourselves in the foot,repeatedly.
It just becomes part of ournormal thought process.
I'm different.
I have to prove myself.
Am I normal or not?
In this childhood world, there'sobsession about whether we're
good enough or worthy, andwhether other people will

(01:26):
approve of us or not.
There is often a deep fear ofabandonment by others and
winding up alone.
It is a world governed byinsecurity and anxiety which can
spin off all types of defensemechanisms, compulsions,
avoidances and distractions.
We have all kinds of thoughtsgoing through our mind all the
time.

(01:46):
But when those thoughts areabout judging, I'm good or bad,
someone else is good or bad, whythings are the way they are,
These kinds of thoughts arecoming from our inner child, our
emotional mind, which is highlysubjective.
That means it goes more byfeelings, impressions, gut
instinct rather than facts.
The child in us is always tryingto figure out why what happened

(02:08):
happened, and usually overlyinterprets events to be about
his or herself.
This judgmentalness and thefalse meanings we make up cause
much unnecessary suffering.
If you can begin to recognizethe judgmental thinking, that we
grow up with this internaldialogue the part that's wrapped
up in our insecurities then fornow you can just label that and

(02:31):
recognize it for what it iscoming from childhood beliefs
and interpretations about whypeople have done to you what
they did don't expect that sortof thinking to stop for now it's
not good or bad just continue torecognize this every chance you
can and when you do that you'repracticing aspects of
mindfulness The following areundeniable facts to remember

(02:53):
when you're practicingmindfulness.
Everyone has strengths andweaknesses.
We're all born without a manual.
Everyone makes mistakes.
Everyone fails at some things.
Bad things happen to everyone.
No such thing as one personbeing more worthy or better than

(03:14):
another.
No one has a right to judgeanyone else.
except in a professional rolesuch as a teacher or a judge.
These facts also remind me to beless afraid of people judging me
and less judgmental and morecompassionate towards others.
When we stop being afraid of howothers judge us, it really
removes bonds and limitationsthat we've been imposing on

(03:37):
ourself.
When we can see that trying todo something and failing or even
earning disapproval ordisappointment doesn't mean
we're quote a failure closequote we can actually turn
around our thinking to theconcept that if we don't fail at
some things and make a fewenemies in life we're probably
not putting ourself out there toour fullest potential I also

(04:00):
don't want my listeners to nowbecome a bunch of egotists we
all have greatness inside thepotential to leave a positive
mark on others and on the planetthe more we are into ourself is
important, we risk building upour ego too much.
Think about people you know withbig egos.
Perhaps they're really filled upwith themselves.

(04:22):
Many negatives, turns othersoff, hard to connect, and in my
experiences in the field, thebigger they are, the harder they
fall.
We do want ego as in a healthy,integrated, functional person.
We want our concept of ourselfnot too low and not too high.
But when you think about it, inwhat ways is it healthy to think

(04:44):
about our self and when is itunnecessary?
You'll see if you follow TPMthat most of the time it is
unnecessary to think about yourquote self, close quote, at all.
In the bigger scheme of things,we're fairly insignificant.
We have very limited power.
In 100 or 1,000 years, what willbe left of us?

(05:05):
Our lives have no inherentmeaning.
We have no inherent rights.
We were born without a plan forlife and we're just making it up
as we go along.
If any of us thinks we haveinherent or special meaning or
purpose, we're deluded, foolingourself and wasting time.
This can also be veryliberating.

(05:25):
I don't have to please anyoneelse or live up to anyone else's
expectations.
I don't have to keep going roundand round in circles trying to
figure out the meaning of lifeor why I was born.
Instead, I can focus on tryingto make the most out of the life
I have.
I have to create my own purpose.
I have to put the meaning intomy life.

(05:47):
When we consider our life in afinite way, limited in length,
abilities, and influence, itdoes make us feel smaller.
Imagine projecting yourselftoward the end of your
opportunity here on earth andask, what will be important to
me then?
A life consumed by judgment.
Judging ourself, good or bad,strong or weak, normal or not,

(06:11):
and being concerned about otherpeople's judgments is radically
distracting.
Opportunities go right by.
You want to shake loose of yourjudging and not become too full
of yourself.
I see two ways to live.
One is a life of judgment,motivated by our fears of
negative judgments by others,motivated by guilt, having to be

(06:33):
defensive, judgment and feardriven.
People are afraid to give upjudgment and guilt.
They may really believe thattheir worth is dependent on
other people's judgment.
This is what has motivated themtheir whole life.
Stay out of trouble.
Don't get embarrassed.
Please people.
Look good.
There's a lot of anxiety andobsessing.

(06:57):
In this world, the way ofthinking, the rules go something
like this.
There are good people and badpeople.
You're adequate.
okay or not.
Whether you're okay or notdepends on other people's
approval.
And when you make a mistake,beat yourself up.
But if I don't have to worryabout other people judging me,

(07:19):
if I don't beat myself up, thenwhat will motivate me?
Well, there's the alternative.
It's a life that is values andpassion driven.
In this world, who I am is basedon my values and my actions and
what I create with my life.
In this world, we're more intouch with the undeniable facts
I listed above.

(07:40):
We don't obsess about whatpeople think about us because we
won't please everyone andinstead we just work at being
the best we can be.
As a psychiatrist, it's veryinteresting that some
medications, in particular theserotonin reuptake inhibitors,
usually shift a person who is inthe world of anxiety,
insecurity, self-doubt, severejudgmentalness, within about

(08:02):
three weeks to the world ofacceptance, non-judgment, and
much less fear of the opinionsof others.
It's really a chemical thing.
However, when the person goesoff the medication, unless
they've had some therapy, theirthinking reverts to the
fear-driven rules.
Even just knowing that there's adifferent world of thinking,
even though you may not be thereyet, is a big step forward.

(08:25):
Just try to imagine thatthere'll be a time when you
won't worry much about whatothers think.
You'll have a big space in yourlife and in your mind.
This is to make room for yourpassions and your creativity.
Values become the foundation.
Mind gem number five.
The greatness you can be mustalways be balanced by a sense of

(08:48):
humility.