People who do great things don’t sit around wondering what can go wrong; they sit around imagining all of the things that can go right!
One of my favorite things to teach is the power of the mind to ‘choose’ what it thinks about. At first, the person learning this concept usually doesn’t want to admit it. They say things like…
“But I can’t help it!”
“I can’t stop thinking about…”
“My mind just wanders.”
“I just can’t keep myself from thinking about…”
Yet the fact is, we CAN control our thoughts; it’s just that before we can, we must become aware of them.
This means we have to take time to notice what you’re thinking…and when you DO notice your thoughts, what kind of thoughts are they?
To find out, simply ask yourself these questions:
- Are my thoughts positive or negative in nature?
- Are my thoughts optimistic or pessimistic in nature?
- Am I thinking about the past, the present or the future?
- Am I creating my life or pretending to be a victim in some way?
Yes, noticing your thoughts takes practice because, for some reason, human beings have such a hard time accepting the idea that WE are at the root cause of all things life-related. And yet, when we do, we are all powerful in creating the exact life we wish to live.
Once you get pretty good at being aware of your thoughts, you’ll start to notice that you have certain thought ‘patterns’ that replicate themselves day in and day out. It’s these thought patterns that must be changed in order to change our lives. After all, even if you don’t want to admit it, we ARE what we think about most of the time.
Have you ever noticed that there is one thought that comes into your mind over and over again that then leads to the same additional thoughts that then leads you to the exact same conclusion or idea every single time? We often refer to this as a ‘chain of thought’ because one thought leads to the next and so on.
A friend of mine once told me that every time he thinks about getting himself a scooter to ride around town on in order to save money on gas (he has a large truck for work), he ends up deciding he should get a Harley!
What are some of your thought patterns? Take time today, and every day, to follow your thoughts. Then make a decision about whether you want to continue following them or you want them to follow you.
Just something to think about…