So much of creating the life of my dreams has been mental. Of course, I always thought that the way to live life was to have self-discipline and work toward goals. That way of living has it's place. However, many of us have turned self-discipline into self attack which never advances us toward our goals.
One of the most valuable skills I've learned has to do with monitoring my thoughts. The first thing I learned was that I was not my thoughts. Separating myself so that I could observe my thinking was a challenge at first. I was very much identified with my thoughts.
The next thing I had to learn was to question my thoughts. I had somehow come to believe that everything I thought was right. Actually, my thoughts - and I think this is true for pretty much everyone - are generated separately from my decision-making process. I wasn't choosing what I thought about. Thoughts were just arising from somewhere. Just because they were generated by my brain didn't mean they were correct.
The third thing I learned that although I wasn't choosing my thoughts, I could actually change them. I could say to myself, "Wait. That's not true." or "Wait. That doesn't sound right. I'm going to check out the truth of that."
And finally I learned that my thoughts had repetitive patterns that had been running through my mind over and over and over for years and years and years. Thoughts like, "I'm going to mess this up." "Boy, I really messed that up." "I'm not a good person at all. I need to try harder."
Those repetitive thoughts of self-criticism and judgment were causing me to give up before I even started.
Then there were the worry thoughts, "It's going to be hard." "What if he is mad at me?" "What if the boss is going to fire me?" Those repetitive thoughts of predicting a terrible future were keeping me on edge during the day and sleepless at night.
Since I had learned that my thoughts were not me and that they might not be true at all, I decided to examine them. I ultimately decided that since those thoughts weren't doing me any good and were keeping me from moving forward, I would change them. I decided to think encouraging thoughts. I decided to think optimistic thoughts.
What a change that made in my life!
Empowerment enhances the ability of individuals or organizations to make choices and transform those choices into positive outcomes. Empowered people have recognized their own value and strength and their capacity to handle life's problems. In turn they are better able to influence the course of their lives. With information and support, most people can find within themselves the power to direct their lives and reach their dreams.
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