As Louise Hay said, “It is only a thought, and a thought can be changed.” Now, this seems quite simple. But it doesn’t always feel simple, does it?
Each of us is responsible for our thoughts, feelings, and experiences. And every thought you think (with the feelings behind it) is creating your future. Because you are responsible for your thoughts and experiences, you must understand that in order to create a future that you enjoy, your point of power is NOW, in the present moment, and that what you’re thinking matters. Literally, they become the matter of your life: thoughts become things.
Therefore, you must ensure that you choose the thoughts that align with what you want to bring into your life. You need to examine your thoughts and beliefs so that you can discard the ones that are not beneficial for you. When you ask yourself where a thought or belief came from, and whether it is really true, you will probably be surprised to learn that you picked up that belief from an early age and that it may have been from a misunderstanding or from a mean-spirited comment that someone made that you took to heart and made your truth. It may even have been from a well-meaning belief that was passed down to you as ‘truth’. And that is where your thinking problem began.
“Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.”
William James
Take some time to examine your thoughts and beliefs and try to figure out where they came from. Did a childhood bully repeatedly call you stupid? Did your parents consistently say that money doesn’t grow on trees, so stop asking for (fill in the blank) and don’t expect things to get easier? Did you ‘play small’ so that you wouldn’t hurt someone else’s feelings or because you didn’t want the attention? Were you told you had to eat everything on your plate? There are so many scenarios in which we attributed a meaning to something and took it as the unshakeable truth.
“When you are imagining, you might as well imagine something worthwhile.”
Lucy Maud Montgomery
The good news is, now that you understand you have tremendous power because you can change your thoughts, shift your mindset, and let go of old beliefs and acquire better ones, you will begin to see those changes reflected in your life. It really is up to you whether you stay in default with negative, habitual thinking, or whether you use your creative abilities to design the life you want.
“You do not find the happy life. You make it.”
Thomas S. Monson
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