the future could be better – if only…
The majority of your waking thoughts, are worries about events and mistakes of the past. A large portion of your daily thoughts are of daydreaming how the future could be better – if only… Most days you feel as if you jump from one worrisome thought to another. You get overwhelmed and feel defeated. As the day wears on, you become tired and grumpy. Why does it feel as if other people are catching all the breaks and leading healthy, happier lives?
it is just too risky to rock the boat
Staring out the window from your desk or on a break in the lunchroom, you think, “I have to do something about this situation, but what can I do? You live paycheck to paycheck. “Why can’t I find a job that pays more?”, you ask yourself. Remembering an ad you saw on television last night, about going to college, you tell yourself that you are too tired or too busy to look into something that grand of a scale. You hate your job, or your job does not challenge you enough, but you need the paycheck. Living in a harmful relationship or worrying about health issues, your thoughts are, “It is just too risky to rock the boat right now”.
it does not feel like a gift
You have heard all the quotes about taking a risk; about chasing your dream. “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present”, Bil Kearne’s quote reminds us. It definitely does not feel like a gift most days. You have good days. You even manage to have some pretty great days, but they seem to come by way of luck or chance. So many things in your life you are grateful for. However, there are so many things, you could use in your life, to ease some of the stress, worry and challenges. “It would really help if a few people in your life would cooperate once in a while and quit acting stupid and irresponsible”, you tell yourself.
As he thinketh in his heart, so is he. – PROVERBS 23:7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. PHILIPPIANS 4: 6-7
what your thoughts focus on becomes your life
You talk more to yourself than you do anyone else and, consequently, you listen to yourself more than you do anyone else. Just reading this statement alone, gives great insight to the idea that “what you focus on becomes your life”. How could it not? Our brain does not know the difference between what is real and what is the imagination. Your brain will believe what ever you tell it. If you tell your brain that you struggle financially and will never be able to get ahead, guess what? You will never get ahead. If you tell yourself that you are not smart enough to go to college, you got it. You will struggle with content, time management and getting overwhelmed and you will not be successful.
think about how to make it work
When I went to community college, I was already at a disadvantage. I had dropped out of school in the early part of tenth grade, had been out of school for six years, had a father who programed me to believe I would never amount to anything, was married with two small children, and lived 30 miles from the college. On top of that, this was before the internet, so I spent a large majority of my time in the library, researching. I made straight A’s and people would brag about how smart I was and how I was responsible for breaking the curve.
The truth is, I was the opposite. I did not have great intelligence and I had considerable disadvantages, but I was determined. Compensating for my deficits, I would sit in the front, recording my professor’s lectures. I wrote as many notes as I could while listening to the lectures and I asked a ton of questions. After class, I would completely re-write the lecture from the recording, word for word. I would read the entire chapter, highlighting important sentences. Right before tests, I would re-listen to the recordings, study the notes and review the highlighted areas in the textbook. You bet I got an A and I deserved that A too. The point is, I figured out a way to make it work. I had a supportive husband and family that pitched in. Repeatedly telling myself that I was going to succeed, I did.
“It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it”. – DALE CARNEGIE
“The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts”. – MARCUS AURELIUS
life follows your thought process
God tells you that you are what you think. Coaches, psychologists, teachers and motivational speakers are only reminding you what God already communicates to you. God also tells you not to worry. If you focus on, not what you can or cannot do, but how you are going to get it done, life follows that thought process. You put yourself in a position to make it happen. When you make up your mind, the universe miraculously puts the right tools, people and opportunities in front of you to make your dream happen, because after all, God is the universe. Will you get down sometimes? You bet. Do some mindful breathing, then intentionally focus on something positive, getting back on track again.
you have control over your thoughts
According to Sonia Ricotti, “All you have is right now; everything else is a thought in your mind”. Thoughts, beliefs and feelings are essentially what creates your nonphysical being and creates your destiny. It makes sense then, that you would have control over your thoughts. When you realize that unhealthy thoughts are stealing your future, you are ready for change. Give yourself encouraging affirmations. Be the first to tell yourself, “GOOD JOB – WAY TO GO”. Be proud of yourself. When you focus your thoughts on THOSE dreams that will make you a happy, content person in a world that is not so OK much of the time, your life becomes just that – wonderful, no matter what.
Many years my friend, many years....