“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Have you ever taken a moment to reflect on a problem you were having and thought…I wonder if I might be the cause of the issue?
The truth: Most people don’t!
In fact, the majority of folks believe that the cause of most of their problems are based on other people or external circumstances. This is nothing new, this has been an issue for humans since the beginning of time. That said, it seems to have been magnified over the the few years. You don’t have to look very far to see this “blame-demic” infecting the world, especially in America.
I believe one of the major causes is the proliferation of messaging from social media, the news, and the Big 3 Institutions (government, higher-education, & religion). They want you to believe that you are incapable of thinking for yourself.
They need you to be dependent on them so they can continue to exist, regardless of whether they provide any actual value other than their own self-interest (ad revenue, money, or control). Never-mind that these organizations are in chaos and totally incapable of managing themselves, let alone you. They want you to believe they have your best interest in mind – they don’t!
You Are More Powerful Than You Know
There is an ancient 2000 year old saying “As you think, so you are.” This idea or concept has been recycled, reworded, and regurgitated in numerous ways: “You reap what you sow, Karma is a bi***, What goes around comes around, thoughts become things, as a man thinketh in his heart so is he, etc.”
The concept has been spoken in some form by the likes of King Solomon, Confucius, Gandhi, Napoleon Hill, Dalai Lama, Earl Nightingale, James Allen, Thoreau, Marcus Aurelius, and a whole lot of others. It is a universal truth wrapped up in a variety of ways!
And yet, we are a society who traditionally looks outside of ourselves as the cause of our problems, instead of looking inside ourselves and owning the power we could potentially wield with our thoughts!
When you take the time to look inward and take 100% responsibility for the results in your life and then embrace the concept that thoughts become things, you accomplish two things:
- You now wield a power so much greater than you ever thought was possible to achieve what you want in life.
- You take back the power you’ve been giving away to others who you hoped would create your peace, happiness, and success, but failed miserably.
Your Thoughts & Words Matter
A number of years ago a doctor by the name of Masuru Emoto conducted an experiment with three jars of rice for a month. The first jar he said the words, thank you” to for a month. The second, he spoke the words “you’re an idiot!” The third jar he simply ignored.
After a month, the rice in the first jar was slightly yellow, the second was black and growing mold, and the third had turned black. The conclusion: thoughts, words, and intentions matter!
If you are interested in delving into this topic even deeper you can check out Lynn McTaggart’s work on Intention. Using research in the filed of quantum physics from Princeton, MIT, and Stanford, she reveals why it is so important to pay attention to your thoughts, and intentions because they manifest themselves in our actions, and therefore our results.
So what can you do with this information?
A Solution For Self-Inflicted Problems
Talking about self-inflicted problems is one thing, actually doing something about it is the path out. And it all starts with your thoughts and what you’re making things mean. Here’s a few ideas.
- Name one area of your life where you having a problem or are not getting the results you would like.
- Ask yourself: What do I believe about this person, situation, or challenge that I am facing? Is it positive or negative?
- Am I making it negative by blaming them? What might I be doing to accentuate, extend, or exacerbate the issue? (Hint: this is usually where things like limiting beliefs, lack of trust, misalignment of values, your ego, self-centeredness, a scarcity mentality, or anything that is rooted in fear- based thinking is present).
- Ask yourself: What is one small step or action you can take today to reverse the downward spiral? How do I reframe this negative and transform it into a positive? i.e. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, focus on all you do have, instead of focusing it on all the bad, look for all the good in your life, no matter how small You don’t need a giant step… just a small positive action that gets you to shift to a more positive mindset!
Today and for the next 7 days over the Thanksgiving holiday, revisit these questions every time you feel yourself being pulled back into a negative mindset. For alot of folks, the holidays always provide a number of opportunities to practice.
The Real Secret
Once you realize that YOU are 100% responsible for all the result you are getting in your life AND you can change your situation by shifting your thoughts, you can change your life.
You can move from getting the life you’re getting to having the life that you want!
Happy Thanksgiving!
