Everything begins with a thought...
Everything.
Everything positive...
Begins with a positive thought.
So the key...
Is to have positive thoughts.
And then, your life will be positive!
Easy!
Yeah, right!
The problem, of course, is that keeping the positive thoughts rolling isn't as easy as we'd like it to be...
Or is it?
Are you full of self-doubt?
Do you hear yourself putting yourself down?
"Oh, I've tried that before and it didn't work, so there's no point trying again!"
"I'm hopeless at..."
"I'll never get this to work!"
"There's no point applying... there's bound to be someone better for the job than me!"
"I can't do that!"
Self-doubt is part of human nature.
Self-doubt is bound to creep into your thoughts at some time or another.
So, how do you conquer it?
How do you reject these thoughts and develop the positive mindset you need to be successful in life?
How do you start to reduce the negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones?
Interestingly, most people find it easier to be positive with others than with themselves.
How often have you been cheered up by a friend?
Helping you through a difficult time...
Encouraging you to keep going after you've failed to get that new job...
Or that promotion...
Or after you've split up with your girlfriend.
And how often have you done the same thing for a friend or family member, yourself?
Yet, when it comes to you...
You find it harder to be positive and encouraging.
That's when the negative thoughts come to the fore...
That's when the self-doubt takes over.
That's when you start putting yourself down...
Instead of building yourself up.
Now, I'd like to say changing your mindset is as easy as reading a book..
Or two...
Or three!
I'd like to say, it's as easy as working with a Life Coach for a few sessions.
But I can't.
Sure both will help...
And maybe both are necessary for you.
But...
In reality, a change of mindset will only happen if you completely change the way you think...
In particular...
You need to totally change the way you view yourself...
Your successes...
And your "failures".
Look for positives in everything.
And I really do mean everything...
Everything you've done in the past...
And everything you do from this moment on.
Remove the word "failure" from your dictionary and replace it with "a lesson learned".
So...
If things don't work out the way you want them to...
It's a lesson learned...
Not failure.
It's taking you forward...
Not holding you back.
If you "fail" at something...
You put yourself off from having another go at it...
However...
If you learn something from your ("failed") attempt...
You can do better next time...
And the time after that...
There's a famous Thomas Edison quote...
Something he reputedly said after he'd invented the electric light bulb...
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
Where would we be today, if people like Thomas Edison had given up after just one or two attempts?
Progress would never happen.
We'd just stagnate...
In a pool of misery...
Feeling sorry for ourselves...
Thinking of ourselves as failures.
The big question is...
How do you go from someone who's always negative...
About life...
About other people...
About yourself?
And how do you start to view things differently?
How do you start to see the positives in everything?
And...
I really do mean everything!
How do you start seeing the positives in yourself?
How do you stop beating yourself up when things don't go to plan?
And instead...
Learn a lesson...
Re-group...
And go again!
Well, as I mentioned earlier...
Wouldn't it be great if you could just read a couple of books...
Or hire a Life Coach for a few sessions...
And that would be it!
Well...
Whilst neither of those things is all you have to do...
Either...
Or both, in combination...
Will get you started.
And that's the key to success with this...
Getting started.
Breaking free from your past.
After that, you just have to keep going...
Doing things...
Trying things...
Enjoying your successes...
And building on them.
Learning lessons when things don't go to plan...
And growing...
Getting better at things...
Getting better at life.
Changing your mindset takes time...
Changing your mindset takes patience...
Changing your mindset means you have to learn some lessons.
Maybe you have to re-think your philosophy on life, itself.
I certainly had to.
I used to think success would come easy...
I used to think I had all the answers...
I used to think I had to do big things in life to make my life worthwhile.
But then...
I realised that everything starts from nothing...
Everything starts from a single thought...
And then grows into something bigger...
If you keep working at it.
There are no "get rich quick" schemes...
There are no "Life-Hacks" that will change your life overnight...
There is no fast route to success.
There was a time when the "Virgin" empire didn't exist...
Then Richard Branson had a thought.
There was a time when Life Coaching didn't really exist...
Then Tony Robbins had a thought.
The Ford Motor Company started with a thought from Henry Ford...
Then he built the first prototype at his home in 1896...
The first Ford Model T rolled off the production line 7 years later in 1903.
How many of your "projects" have taken that long to build?
Are you prepared to build something worthwhile?
Something that has longevity...
Something that has purpose.
Or are you always looking for that elusive "Get Rich Quick" scheme...
That doesn't really exist.
Here's the thing...
Going for the easy option...
The "Get Rich Quick" scheme, if you like...
Is what we do when we don't think we're good enough to produce something worthwhile.
It's what we do because we don't have the confidence in our own ability...
Or we don't think we know enough to produce something of value.
But the thing is...
When Richard Branson started out on his journey to create the Virgin empire...
He didn't know what he'd end up with...
He just had the confidence to get started.
Tony Robbins started off trying to understand himself first...
Then decided he wanted to help others...
But he didn't know exactly what he was going to create.
When Thomas Edison started out to invent things...
He had an idea to get started...
But the final invention was often very different to what he planned...
And along the way, he learnt valuable lessons that helped him invent other things!
And, when Henry Ford started on his journey to build a motor car...
He had an idea of what he wanted to create...
But he didn't have all the answers...
Indeed...
He didn't even have all the questions.
And I'm guessing...
If you're anything like me...
You don't have all the answers...
Nor do you have all the questions.
So your next step?
Find the answers to some of your questions...
Get started...
See where that takes you...
Get over a few hurdles...
Solve a few problems...
Answer a few more questions...
Find some more answers...
Get over a few more hurdles...
Repeat...
Repeat...
Repeat!
And...
As you start on this new journey of yours...
Fill you head with as much positive stuff as you can!
Read "Awaken the Giant Within" by tony Robbins...
Listen to "The Tim Ferris Show" podcasts...
Remove negative TV from your life...
Reduce the time you spend watching the news (it's almost always portrayed as bad).
Stop making negative comments about other people or other things...
If you can't say something positive...
Don't say it!
Look for solutions not problems.
Look for growth...
Look to make a difference...
Look for an idea to build on...
Look for your purpose.
Keith Jones
Living a Life of Purpose