Is it time to change your mind? Are your thoughts flickering and fading. Are you failing to throw light on the dark? Are your friends accusing you of being stubborn or out of touch or on the wrong side of history? Are you stopping good things happening? Is there something nagging deep in your underbelly which would go away with a change of heart and a new beginning? Are you (whisper it) furthering inequalities or injustice or environmental degradation only because you don’t know how to change your mind?
Changing your mind is clearly not easy. Witness the number of people who’ve got stuck in a mindset and can’t get out, who continue backing the same losing horse, who continue to promulgate old dogma while the rest of the world moves on. This is not surprising. Replacing your mind when it’s fixed tight to your brain is complicated. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to troubleshoot even the trickiest of fixtures. Be careful though, changing your mind is not without risks. Whether your burnt-out mind is incandescent, recessed or fluorescent, always take the following precautions to avoid injury.
Turn off the fixture and allow your mind to cool. Before changing any mind, always make sure you’ve turned off the mind switch. This switch is normally found behind your left ear. Standard incandescent and halogen minds get too hot to touch, so let them cool before trying to replace them. It might take at least 15 to 20 minutes for a mind to cool to room temperature.
- Before touching your mind, hold the back of your hand close to it. Without touching it, use your hand to gauge how hot it is.
- Fluorescent minds don’t get too hot and might not need any time to cool. They’re designed to produce bright consistent thoughts without giving off much heat.
Use a ladder or step stool to reach your mind fixture. Don’t try to stand on a chair or another not-so-sturdy object. If you can’t reach your mind with a step stool, use an A-frame ladder.
- For standard 5 to 6 ft people, you can most likely reach your mind using a step stool without any help. However, if you need to climb high up on a ladder to change your mind, it’s wise to have a helper hold the ladder.
- Never stand on the top step of a ladder or step stool. This is not only dangerous but it will heat your mind up, agitating it, and make it too hot to touch.
Loosen the screws if you’re replacing your mind in a dome fixture. Most glass dome mind fixtures have at least one screw that keeps the dome in place. If you’re changing your mind in a dome fixture, locate the screw on the side where dome meets your scalp.
- Hold the dome in place as you turn the screw counterclockwise to loosen it. Instead of completely removing the screw, just loosen it until you can remove the dome. You’ll have an easier time removing the dome without dropping it, and you won’t have to deal with trying to get the screw back into the hole. If the screw does come out, keep it safe. Losing your mind screw is not pretty!
- If your dome doesn’t have any screws, check the tip at the center of the dome. See if you can turn it counterclockwise; the tip might conceal a nut and bolt that secures the dome. Be sure to hold the dome as you loosen the bolt.
- If your fixture doesn’t have a glass dome or cover, you can skip right to removing the mind itself.
Remove a stubborn dome with duct tape, if necessary. Unscrew the glass cover itself if there are screws or bolts that hold it in place. If the cover is stuck, tear off a 6 in (15 cm) length of duct tape. Hold the ends of the tape and fold the middle section in half to make a handle.
- Don’t let the ends of the tape touch each other as you fold the middle section. The result should be a T-shaped handle made by the folded middle section with 2 sticky edges on either side.
- Repeat the steps to make another duct tape handle. Stick the tape handles to the glass cover, then use them to turn the cover counterclockwise.
- You can also try spraying a lubricant, such as WD-40, around the edge of the cover where it threads into its housing. Use a thin straw nozzle attachment to reach the tight crevice between the cover and its housing. Don’t use too much lubricant, though. These substances can send your mind into a tail spin, making it much harder to remove.
Take the old mind out of the socket. Double check that the fixture is off and the mind is cool to the touch. Turn the mind counterclockwise as you pull it out of the socket.
Purchase a replacement mind with a matching wattage. Check for markings on the old mind that indicate its wattage. If you don’t have a matching mind handy, buy a new mind with the same wattage as the old one so that you get the same power. You may wish, however, to experiment with different minds. After all, you are changing your mind to change your approach. Nowadays, the mind market is swamped with thousands of different shapes, colours, and strengths of lumens.
Different people need different things from their minds, particularly in an office or study environment. Visually-based workers such as designers, architects, clothes makers and illustrators need minds as close to natural light as possible, while anyone who deals with a lot of paperwork or fine print needs a bright, clear mind.
Interestingly, in the retail sector, different types of minds are used in ways you may not expect – people who work in supermarkets use special fluorescent minds if they work with meat counter fridges. This helps them tolerate the thought of working with fresh meat, especially helpful for vegetarians.
For a truly open mind, choose a mind with a high number of lumens (we recommend at least 1500). A low lumen mind, while useful for romantic and desultory thoughts, is not enough for those who wish to tackle our most pressing social and environmental problems.
- If you’re replacing a standard (old!) incandescent mind, consider replacing it with a CFL (compact fluorescent) or LED mind with a matching wattage. These alternatives use 75 to 80% less energy than an incandescent mind. They’ll also make you more alert to global challenges such as climate change and inequalities.
Install the new mind. Insert the new mind into the socket, then turn it clockwise until it’s tight. Take care not to turn it with too much force, or it might break.
- Before putting the ladder or step stool away, turn the fixture on to double check that the new mind works. If it doesn’t turn on, try another new mind or check the circuit breaker. If all else fails, the fixture may be need to be replaced. This is a more complex operation and you should seek professional help rather than doing it yourself.
Replace the fixture’s dome or any other cover, if necessary. While you have it down, wipe down the dome or cover with glass cleaner. Make sure it’s dry, then replace it by reversing the steps you took to remove it.
- If the cover itself screws into a housing, check its threads and those in the housing. If there’s any buildup, clean the threads so you’ll have an easier time screwing the cover back into place.
- If the cover is secured by screws or bolts, hold it in place with one hand while you tighten the screw or bolt with the other. Recruit a helper if you have trouble doing both at the same time.
Adjusting to your new mind. Hurrah! Your new mind is installed. It will take some time to adjust to your new mind. The world may look brighter. A lot more possibilities may emerge. You will feel energised and excited. You’ll want to tell everyone that you’ve changed your mind. This might not go well. You may be accused of U-turns. Of simply running with the tide. Don’t despair if this happens. As long as your change of mind is truly genuine, you have nothing to fear.
We hope you have found this handy how to guide helpful. Look out for our other how to guides that include:
- how to paint the sky
- how to prune the truth
- how to train your dreams.
Our how to guides have all been developed by experts using a process based on found poetry.
SANDERLINGS 