BY: SIMONE JENNIFER SMITH
So, we are off! We have made a few resolutions that we swear we are going to keep. I will be honest with you; if you had not already begun implementing your resolutions in 2017, you are not going to do as well as you think. Behavior is very difficult to change, especially when you have been doing them for awhile. I struggle with this all the time, and it is only recently that I have found techniques that help me break my behavioural norms and implement better practices.
It starts with the mind. Your mind is your most powerful tool, yet many of us have not even bothered to read the manual. The manual would take a lifetime to read, and many of us can’t even finish a 1,000-page book. I am not judging, I am just enlightening everyone to the fact that we are not utilizing our minds to its greatest potential.
How do I correct my mindset?
I train my mind.
How do I do that?
Well, I have learned that what you put in your mind is what comes out in our actions. So now, I am very careful of what I allow myself to take in. At times, it is a very alienating experience. I am unaware of certain things in the media that might be beneficial in knowing, but you know what, I am learning how to watch and filter as well.
Sigh! It is a tedious experience, but when you go through the chaos of self, you come out on the other side with such insight. Life becomes easier. This is why many of the success stories you hear, have some sort of life trauma. It is dealing with self during that trauma that shows your resilience. It is an emotional, confusing, debilitating experience, but this is why many people don’t even bother. If you are going to take that journey through self, you have to train your mind. Let me start you off with what I started with: Positive Words and Affirmations.
An infinity of excuses can always be found for non-action. (A Thousand Paths to a peaceful life, David Baird)
I want you to take a moment, to be honest with yourself. How many excuses are you making for yourself at this very moment? Is there something that needs to be done and you have found every reason not to do it? I bet you that you even reading this article could be a way of avoiding an action that could be taken. It is okay because if you are, I have sparked a thought. This thought can do two things for you: make you uncomfortable and spring you into action, or make you uncomfortable, and you keep reading, dealing with the uncomfortable feeling until it goes away. Regardless of your reaction to this, I caused a spark, and this is my intention. I want you to think; I want this to make you uncomfortable because you will remember that discomfort. In time you will act, and you will see how the action is a powerful thing.
The quickest way usually takes a long time to discover. (A Thousand Paths to a peaceful life, David Baird)
Have you ever driven somewhere, and when you find the place, you realize that you could have taken a much quicker way to get there if you had only known. Well, this, of course, is how life works. I have had to learn some tough lessons, only to look back at it and be like, “Really! So, I could have just done this and gotten these results years ago.” It is the frustrating part of life that we hate dealing with. We hate the idea that we have wasted time. I want to encourage you that it is okay; keep your eye on what you are trying to achieve and don’t worry about the wasted time. It is already gone. Time to reset, and begin your countdown on this year, 360 something days left…….
