Hi, this is Monique Rhodes. Welcome to the In Your Right Mind podcast, where we’re learning how to be happier by working with our minds. If you'd like to know more about what I teach, come to iintendtobehappy.com. I’d love to help you get yourself on track to be happier.
You Are Not Separate From What You Take In
It’s easy to think of ourselves as separate from the world around us.
We don’t always realize that what we watch, read, and scroll through is shaping who we are.
But if we slow down and really pay attention, we’ll see something deeper:
Everything you consume becomes part of you.
Not just the food you eat
But the words you take in
The conversations you engage in
The endless feeds you scroll through without thinking
Your Mind Reflects What It’s Fed
The quality of your mind—your thoughts, emotions, and ideas—is a reflection of what you're feeding it.
You can't plant seeds of chaos and expect to harvest peace.
You can't flood your mind with outrage, gossip, and despair and expect to live with hope, peace, focus, and love.
Your mind isn’t impenetrable. It absorbs. It reflects.
It grows what it’s fed.
Every Input Is a Seed
Every podcast, every article, every TV show, every conversation—these are seeds.
Whether you realize it or not, you’re planting something with every choice.
Ask yourself:
Am I planting fear or possibility?
Am I planting division or connection?
Am I planting criticism or creativity?
We become what we repeatedly expose ourselves to.
Over time, the things we treat casually—what we read, listen to, engage with—define the reality we live in.
What Are You Letting In?
Of course, books matter—reading matters.
But inputs are everywhere:
What conversations are you participating in?
What news channels do you watch or listen to?
What headlines are shaping your worldview?
What influences surround you?
What voices are you letting take root in your mind?
What kind of art are you consuming—or avoiding?
What environments are you soaking in without even realizing it?
Your Mind Will Mirror Your Inputs
If most of your inputs are reactive, cynical, or shallow,
your mind will eventually start to mirror that.
But if what you’re putting in is thoughtful, expansive, challenging, or creative,
your mind will grow in those directions too.
The Attention Economy Doesn’t Have Your Best Interests at Heart
The modern world is designed to hijack your attention.
Every scroll, click, and swipe pulls you somewhere—
and fewer and fewer of those places are nourishing.
We live in a global economy that profits from outrage, fear, and division.
If you don’t consciously choose your inputs,
the world will choose them for you—
and it won’t choose what’s best for your peace, your creativity, or your happiness.
This Is Not About False Positivity—It’s About Consciousness
This isn’t about staying positive for the sake of it.
It’s about staying conscious.
Your mind is a living ecosystem.
If you’re not tending it, it will be overrun.
We Are What We Eat—And What We Think
It’s easy to believe that what we consume today doesn’t matter.
But just like food shapes your body,
information, conversations, and images shape your mind.
That one click, that one mindless conversation, that one hour of empty noise—
it may not seem like much.
But over time, small choices create enormous shifts.
Your Attention Is Your Life Force
Where you place it today shapes who you become tomorrow.
Ask yourself:
Is what I’m consuming helping me become the person I want to be?
Is it leading me toward clarity or confusion?
Toward hope or despair?
Toward connection or isolation?
Every little piece—every article, every conversation, every show—adds up to the emotional and mental home you are living in.
Choose Depth Over Distraction
Choosing high-quality inputs doesn’t mean only consuming what’s easy or comforting.
It means seeking out things that stretch you—without snapping you.
It means choosing depth over distraction.
It means allowing yourself to be challenged by wisdom, beauty, and truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.
It also means giving yourself permission to turn away from what depletes you.
You don’t have to absorb every opinion.
You don’t have to argue with every voice.
You don’t have to carry the chaos of the world just because it’s loud.
You Are the Gatekeeper
You get to choose what you plant.
You get to choose what you water.
You are not helpless. You’re not a passive participant.
You are the gatekeeper, the builder, the artist of your own mind.
So ask yourself:
Am I building a mind rooted in curiosity, compassion, and creativity?
Or am I allowing noise, fear, and bitterness to become the soundtrack of my life?
Every Day, You Are Creating Yourself
Not just through what you do—
but through what you consume,
through what you let in,
through what you let grow.
Choose carefully.
Choose consciously.
As if your future depends on it—
because it does.
Don’t forget, if you’d like to know more about what I teach, come to iintendtobehappy.com.
As always, be kind, take care, and go gently in the world.
