Napolean Hill’s book- Think and Grow Rich opens with the line:  “Truly, ‘thoughts are things and powerful things at that.” If one considers that the average human has between 50,000 and 80,000 thoughts going through their mind every day, that’s a lot of things going on.  But there’s another dimension to this – humans are also the only beings with 100% control over their thinking. All other beings operate from instinct, meaning that not only do humans have a lot of things going through our minds, we also have a lot of control over these thoughts. 

So with this context of control laid, I am still amazed at how many people around me every day are consumed by negative thinking. I often wonder how differently some people would see the world and themselves if they just changed the way they think.  

Admittedly the mind can be a fierce battleground. It’s where our expectations reside. It’s where we judge ourselves. It’s where our fears cultivate their power. It’s where distractions emerge and it’s the root of self-doubt.  But all battles are won from the inside out. We have little control over what happens to us, but we have complete control over how we act or react and these responses are led by our thinking.  Negative thoughts suffocate joy, purpose and productivity. 

Assigning blame to something or someone else for things that have happened in the past only serves to generate and reinforce negativity and this creates a limiting mindset that stops us from becoming everything we were destined to become. We need to actively manage our thinking and change our response from that of a victim (“everything happens to me”) to that of a victor (“everything happens for me’). Adopting an attitude of gratitude every single day also helps to solidify this thinking.

Thoughts are things. You are what you think. The quality of your life is directly related to the quality of your thinking. And you can’t change anything in your life if you can’t change your thinking. Once we acknowledge that we alone control our thoughts and the power they hold, that our thoughts are things, we can purposefully design our lives and ultimately our happiness.

#LIVELIFELOVELIFE #liveinthemoment #bebetteratbeingbetter #payitforwards

#ShiftHappens #WinAtLife