“No one is free who is not a master of himself” -William Shakespeare
I’ve read a few books on personal development and success. It takes a lot of effort to be successful at anything but if an individual is disciplined and has learned to master their thoughts then anything is possible. Really successful people make it easy. Everything we do starts with a thought. Negative thoughts breed negative results and postive thoughts breed positive results. Mastering yourself begins with mastering your thoughts.
How does someone who has mastered their thoughts think? To them, anything is possible. They believe in themself. They don’t let addictions or bad habits distract them and slow them down. They know what they want and they will do what it takes to get it.
Become More Aware
To master your thoughts it requires constant awareness of the mind. We don’t realize how often we let our thoughts control us rather than controlling our thoughts. Practice thinking about what you’re thinking. Meditate. Prayer and meditation is basically the act of proactively thinking. Communing with diety is a powerful act. There is something to be said about receiving inspiration or revelation. It typically doesn’t come unless we are aware of our thoughts. Or, it could come but we aren’t aware or listening.
Begin To Replace Negative Thoughts
As you become more aware of your thoughts you realize how negative, doubtful, fearful and cynical you can be. Focus on the positive. In prayer, I was taught to give thanks before asking God for anything. If you notice a negative thought. Stop. Think of something you’re grateful for. Anything, life, the ability to think, something. Now force yourself to smile. You’ll feel so much better.
Stretch Your Mind
Okay, now that you have a little bit of self control, let’s put it to the test. Set a goal of some sort. Nothing big, maybe your goal will be to pray twice a day or to avoid sugar for a week. If you have an addiction you are trying to quit set a goal to not feed your addiction for 1 day, 2 days. Something you know you can do. This is important because if it is too hard and you have doubt then you’ve already lost! Start small and just do it. Now, use steps one and two to help you achieve Step 3. Here is a tip. Put something in place to remind you of your goal every morning right when you wake up and again right before you go to bed. Or any time throughtout the day. Do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal. It’s best if it is a goal you can reach in 1-5 days so you can get immediate satisfaction and empowerment. Once you’ve reached your goal extend it and continue to be more and more aware of your thoughts and your own ability to control yourself. You know you can do amazing things. Think of the most amazing thing you’ve done. You know you can repeat that and you know you can do better so what is stopping you? You are. So stop it!
