What’s Your Excuse? Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life.

Since the beginning of time, some of the world’s greatest thinkers and philosophers have known, and shared, about the power we have inside ourselves to create our own destiny, merely by changing our way of thinking.

“Your life is what your thoughts make it.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”  –Lao-Tzu

More recently, Shakespeare threw in his 2 cents, when he wrote in Hamlet,  “There is nothing good or bad, only thinking makes it so” and Sun Tzu said, “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”

Guess what:

It is NOT a secret (as much as the book’s title may imply, even Rhonda Byrne admits that this philosophy has always been known). Yet, so many people seem not to have heard, or if they have they don’t understand, and they allow themselves to be “victims” of circumstance, offering up excuses for all the ways in which they do not act to change their lives for the better.

Do you ever hear your internal dialogue spouting off some of these more common, defeating, negative thoughts?

• I’m not good enough
• My dreams are unrealistic
• My dreams are impractical
• Circumstances dictate outcomes or success
• I’m not worthy of good things
• I’m such a failure
• I’ll never make it
• I’m such an idiot
• I’m not smart enough
• My brain just doesn’t work that way
• I don’t have enough energy
• I’m too tired
• I don’t have enough time

Our perceptions or ideas are shaped by our experiences in life, as well as the messages we receive daily or have received from those who influenced us, about our surroundings, our circumstances and ourselves.

And, influence, both positive and negative, is everywhere.

What you tell yourself about yourself, another, or a situation is what is true of it, because, as they say, “perception is reality”, meaning that each of us owns our own reality. Here are a few good ways to change your thinking and, therefore, change your life:

~ Read positive uplifting books about the power of the mind. The Secret  is actually a pretty good one, as is the famous Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale or Excuses Begone! How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits by Dr. Wayne Dyer.

~ Meditate each day with positivity and invoke positive affirmations into your daily life. Post them on your bathroom mirror, set your smart phone or tablet to greet you with them and leave them on your desk, the dash of your car and in your laptop bag or briefcase.

~Surround yourself with positive, successful people. Strive to learn, and gain influence from, the best and disengage from negative people who are energy vampires and naysayers. Note the success of others, celebrate them and invite that influence and inspiration into your life.

~Be Grateful. When you wake up in the morning, give thanks. It doesn’t matter if you are a spiritual or religious person or not; just give thanks. Give thanks to your higher self, the Universe, God, Nature, whatever but give thanks. An attitude of gratitude goes a very long way in changing our way of thinking and therefore the outcomes of our daily lives.

~Reach Back. If you haven’t done so before, re-visit the tales of Dr.Suess; he was a pretty smart guy.