Changing Your Thinking

By Changing Your Thinking
By Author Unknown

By Changing Your Thinking,
You change your beliefs;

When you change your beliefs,
You change your expectations;

When you change your expectations,
You change your attitude;

When you change your attitude,
You change your behavior;

When you change your behavior,
You change your performance;

When you change your performance;
You Change Your Life!

Believe In Your Own Success

Believe in your own success

"What you believe yourself to be, you are."
-- Claude M. Bristol

Do you believe, deep down inside of you, that you can succeed in what you want to do?
Beliefs are strong, and they have the power to attract what is believed to us. If we doubt our ability to succeed, if we in fact believe we WON'T succeed, then sure enough, that’s what will happen.

What do you believe about yourself? You have the power to change your beliefs, and that will change your outcome. Set goals you believe you can accomplish. Your beliefs will shape your actions. As you achieve these goals, you'll begin to believe you are capable of succeeding and of doing even more.

"It is better to believe than to disbelieve; in so doing you bring everything to the realm of possibility."
-- Albert Einstein

"Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, really believe, your mind will find the ways to do it. Believing a solution paves the way to solution."
-- Dr. David Schwartz

I have my big exam coming up again and I have to pass it this time. The last time I failed miserably, but I had a failure mind set going into it. My dearset friend sent this to me this morning and I need to now put it into action. The mind is a powerful thing and with the right attitude and study I know I will pass this time. But say lots of prayers anyway!

Smile

Today's thought is:

When they take your smile away they might just as well shoot you.--Violet Hensley

Violet is one big smile. And it's not the result of having an easy life. On the contrary, she has worked doubly hard all her life to support her family. However, she has a joyful attitude, and it has made the difference in her life. Now in old age, she still works hard making fiddles for sale and performing music; but she loves every minute of life, and when you're with her, you love it too.

Why aren't we more like Violet? The answer always rests within us. We have decided how to respond to life's trials. We were never forced to dread, hate, or appreciate our experiences. We were, and still are, solely responsible for our interpretation. The Violets of the world opted to have more fun.

How do we begin having more fun? The first step is deciding to leave the past behind. No matter what our experiences were last year or in our childhood or even this morning, they don't have to determine what our experiences will be in this next hour. Having more fun is clearly a decision that is coupled with action. Any one of us can do it as well as we want to.

Smiling at myself in the mirror is good practice. Offering one to the first person I encounter strengthens my desire to offer more.

I'm learning to move beyond those experiences that have held me captive for so long. Finding happiness is the natural consequence of doing so. Facing fears, moving through them, and being released from their bondage has given me hope and strength that I can offer to others. If not for the hope and strengths of those who have walked the path before me this would not be possible. Thanks to the many who have walked the path and have show me the way.

Who Am I?

Zen Koan: When you remove the wheel and axel from a cart, what's left?

When you remove your name, your role, your possessions, your beliefs, your body, what's left?

You may discover that your perception of yourself changes sdepending on time, place, relationship, or how others perceive you and how you perceive others.

There is nothing permanent that you can point to as being "you."

Taken from Heart of Forgiveness by Madeline Ko-I Bastis

Looking at myself from this perspective has been enlightening. Who I am, is really my soul. How I express my soul is up to me. I cannot control what any other person says to me or does to me. I can, however control my reaction to that. I can get angry and hurt and let that person have the power to darken my soul. Or I can accept that this is a sick person too, who deserves my compassion as I would give it to a sick friend or family member. By doing this and praying for the person as it suggests in the Big Book, I will be free of further harm to my soul. I will allow my soul to be free and shine for all to see. I will no longer allow myself to be a victim, and thereby allowing my soul to darken. I want to be a survivor!

Transformation

Asking to be forgiven for our past is a good way to begin the process of transformation. We have already taken the first steps by becoming aware of the harm we have done, accepting responsibilty for our actions, and then becoming intimate with the dark side of our nature that causes harm. We have even felt remorse and made amends. That may take care of the past, but now it's time to look to the present and future. Unfortunately just because we regret something hurtful that we've done doesn't mean that we'll never repeat the action.

Taken from Heart of Forgiveness by Madeline Ko-I Bastis