"and find out what pleases the Lord." Ephesians 5:10
Here is another poignant verse that tells specifically what CANNOT please God:
...and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:8 (ouch.)
If your mind is not SET on the Spirit, by default your mind will be SET on the flesh. I don't know about you but it seems to take no time at all for my mind to reset back to the flesh if I'm not feeding my Spirit with His Word, the bread of life.
Paul in Romans 1 talks about how many of us KNOW God, but because we fill our idle minds with worldly things instead of continually giving glory and thanks to God, our thinking becomes "futile" and though we think we're wise, we become fools...
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools. Romans 1:21-22
Definition of futile: unlikely to produce a useful or desired result--useless or ineffective, lacking substance or value.
Ick. I can relate. It feels awful to be futile. Sitting still produces nothing. I don't want to be useless, ineffective, lack substance or value. I want to fill my mind with the things of God and be useful in His kingdom. Most of all I want to please God.
For more in depth study of the flesh and spirit, Read Romans 8 and make a list of what we have in Christ when we are setting our minds on the Spirit and another list of what the mind set on the flesh is like. Then read the book of 1 John to cross reference with the picture of walking in the light or the darkness.
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6
