For any kind of change to manifest itself in our life, good or bad, it has to first be a thought in our mind. You can look at the life of anyone around you and realize it is a life they have created themselves, generated by their own action or inaction in the form of personal choices, all which has been generated by the way they think. Certainly there are things that happen TO us in our lives that we have no control over. Sometimes in our lives the only thing we can control is how we react to what happens to us.
We all have a story. We all live this life to the best of our abilities. Because of what we have experienced, seen, been taught, chosen to perceive, learned, and because of the habits we have chosen to create over time, we are now living the life we are currently living.
Thought becomes words, which becomes actions, which becomes habits, which becomes our life. With this in mind, one realizes the importance of the thoughts introduced into the mind. One realizes the importance of the thoughts occupied continuously and consistently in the mind.
We are all inspired, in one way or another, by other people in our lives. Sometimes it is a family member we look up to and admire who inspires us. Sometimes it is an artist who inspires us through lyrics in a song. Others of us are inspired by individuals who died centuries ago, but left behind profound words of wisdom.
I have been taught these things throughout the years by my parents, church leaders, friends and through reading books. I made a conscious decision and effort to start controlling the thoughts going into my mind about a year and a half ago when I realized I wasn’t happy with the way my life was going or how I was feeling on a day to day basis.
I tried an experiment: I started saving all of my most favorite, inspirational quotes I came across on Facebook, Pinterest, Google and books I read into a folder on my iPad and iPhone. I started spending five to ten minutes every morning after waking up reading through some of them before I started to get ready for the day. At first it seemed pointless. It felt like a waste of time. After months of consistently reading through them, contemplating them, believing them and eventually repeating them without even thinking about it in conversations, I realized that thinking those inspirational thoughts had become a habit.
Once you are in the habit of thinking differently and thinking about different, more positive and inspiring topics, you will make different choices in your life. Your desires will change. Where you want to go and when will change. What you want to do with your free time will change. That’s okay. Change is good, especially when it is for the better and it lifts and inspires you and those around you instead of causing harm. I love the quote by Socrates: “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” When your thoughts change, it is a natural progression for your words, deeds, habits and life to follow suit. You attract into your life the things that you think about the most.
Imagine the best life you could possibly think of. What would it be like? What would you do during your days to fill your time? Where would you live? What would you do for work to make money? What would your hobbies be? How would you treat others? How would you allow them to treat you? What kinds of people would you allow yourself to be surrounded by and have to be in your life? What would your house look like? What would your dream car be? How would you treat yourself? What would your self talk, eating habits, exercise, mediatation, and your heigene habits be like? Imagine living that life and how you would feel.Once you know exactly what it is that you want, it’s so much easier going out and getting it! I’ve often thought that in college, when you know exactly what you want to study and which degree you want is 90% of the battle. I think the same is true in life. When you know what you want, things become less complicated.
It may take time to reprogram your brain to think differently, and for your words, deeds, habits and life to follow suit, but wouldn’t you rather live your life on purpose? Wouldn’t you rather be as much in control as you possibly can be of your life in every way? One gift we all enjoy is free agency. We get to choose who and what we become. It all starts with what we think about.
Another inspiration
A book I’ve started reading daily is, “The Language of Letting Go”, by Melody Beattie. It has daily entries/excerpts to read that are only a paragraph long. Read daily and consistently, it has been a game changer for me. It has challenged me to think differently and heal quickly, emotionally. My life is so good. I am so blessed. We all are. Sometimes, it just takes a little longer for some of us to realize it.
