“It isn’t what you have, who you are, where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.” D. Carnegie. I have discussed the concept of controlling your thoughts on multiple occasions during the past few years so rather than be redundant I thought I would share a different perspective about this critical concept. Yes, our thoughts contribute to all of our actions, decisions, choices, attitudes and everything else in life but why do they have such an impact? The average person thinks over 6,000 thoughts every day, but my question is why do they think about the ones that they do? During every day you can think about your success, relationships, mistakes, what you are going to eat, your fears of the future, the regrets of the past, career, friends – ok – enough – we all can and do think daily about these and many more topics very day. So, why do we choose the thoughts we select to think about or why does the mind choose the ones it does? Our mind is the most complicated device in the entire world. It has been studied for thousands of years and we still know extraordinarily little about it. But what we do know is we can learn to control it, or we will let it control us. The difference is a conscious choice to begin to think controlled thoughts rather than random ones. Random ones come and go quickly. Controlled ones are selected and chosen by our conscious awareness to try and control the impact they have on our lives. This topic fills hundreds of terrific books written over the centuries, but they all come to the same conclusion. Taking control of your thoughts equals taking control of your life. Thinking randomly all day and every day will create a life of chaos, uncertainty, poor health, fear and disappointment. My recommended reading list (that I share with everyone when asked) lists about 25 books that will help you manage your thoughts in a positive way for a more contented, peaceful and happy life. Just ask me for the list.
“There are no limits to growth because there are no limits to human intelligence, imagination and wonder.” R. Reagan. In my opinion Ronald was more than an actor and politician but a soul that was always in search for a better understanding of a variety of topics that contribute to success and satisfaction with your journey into your future. One of the above questions that are covered in most of the books I mentioned above, is imagination and creativity and where do these come from and how can we master them or just use them more wisely for a better life or even existence? When we consider or think about imagination or creativity and how they are in play I our mind, there special mind activities that impact these. How about a few. – Other people’s opinions. I recall years ago my dad telling me, “Stop trying to become a writer and get a job. Your writing is average and will never support you.” “Thanks Dad.” A former friend told me, “The world does not need more books on the topics you write about. Do something worthwhile.” – How about your inner self telling you, you are not and will ever be good enough! We all can be smarter and learn more about the subjects we are interested in. The question is do we spend the time learning and growing or staying stuck in past values, beliefs or opinions that keep us stuck in these kinds of thoughts. Learning is not about school, courses, or formal circumstances. Actually, many of us need to “unlearn” some things we have been taught or believe than spending time on learning more. Think about it . . . is your mind filled with any material that is getting in the way of your success, happiness, or future in any way? I may not know you personally but my guess to that question, based on what I have learned from meeting thousands of people around the world and from the hundreds of books I have read over the years is – yes. In a way one of my objectives with this Newsletter is to help you to unlearn and not just learn!
How do you control your thoughts______________________