Do you like your thought soup? You know, all the random thoughts that combine in your mind to form the substance of what you think about?
What do you tell yourself about your life? Are you happy? Do you think: “I am happy”, “I love my life”, “I am blessed”, or the Dave Ramsey favorite, “I am better than I deserve”?
Thoughts have a Huge Impact…
Our thoughts, in large part, determine the character of our lived experience. If you mostly think happy, contented, encouraging thoughts, your life will likely “feel” the same. Likewise, if you are troubled by anxious, sad, or doubtful thoughts, your life will likely reflect those thoughts.
Changing Our Thoughts…
Our thoughts can be the hardest thing to change. We must be flexible, willing to change, and willing to admit we may have been wrong in our thoughts.
They also tend to be habitual. We wake up in the morning and think: _______. We drive around and think: _____. We eat and think: ______. We look at a task and think: _________. We look around our home and think: _______. We look at the people in our lives and think: _______.
Facing Challenges
Truly, we can’t like everything we encounter in life. This is unrealistic – everyone meets with challenges, difficulties, and pain. It’s how we face those challenges, what we think when we encounter those difficulties, and how we get through the pain.
Successful people, those who triumph over the obstacles thrown their way, face the challenges that arise with courage, conviction, and can-do spirit. This is not an accident of personality, but a choice anyone can make.
When we consider the key role our on thoughts play in how we approach, handle, and evaluate a situation everything changes. Difficult conversations, difficult negotiations, setbacks, physical pain, life in general – these challenges will be much easier to conquer if we go in with a positive attitude, as best prepared as possible, and considering the other(s) affected. Certainly, it will be much easier than if we approach with fear, doubt, or other negative thoughts.
Closing Thoughts
It is wise to consider the substance of our thoughts. What DO we spend most of our time thinking about? If your thought soup is not delicious, change the recipe! Even if it is an old family recipe…
To more days of “I love my life”,
