This (similarly taught by Brian Tracy) question is one you should be asking yourself on a daily basis. By asking this one question on a daily basis, you will be keeping yourself better on track in accomplishing your goals and dreams than probably anything else you can do. Is that valuable? Of course it is. So make this part of your morning or evening conversation to yourself and if you prefer the evening, modify the question to “What is the most important thing I can do tomorrow?” Then of course you have to follow through with the answer to that question. Try it for 30 days and see how far you go and how pleased you are with the results of having done so.
Here is one of the most important things you can start doing or continue doing if you are already. Doing this is in addition, not instead of what you are doing when you answer the question posed in the preceding paragraph. The answer isn’t new to people who are committed to life long learning or have been practicing self improvement. The answer is to monitor and control your thoughts.
When I say this I mean anything negative that comes into your conscience mind is intentionally recognized by you and blocked by changing your thoughts to something that is positive in nature. It could be anything. In fact, I suggest you find a positive thought regarding your previously perceived negative thought and dwell on it instead to help negate the harmful affects it may have. The truth is every negative thought has an equal and opposite positive thought that can replace the original negative thought. In other words, how you perceive a situation can be either positive or negative depending on how you make it.
You may think or say to yourself, I’m not sure if every negative situation has an equal and opposite positive side to it. But I believe that it does. You may not be able to find the positive that is “equal” in nature, even though it is there, but you can find one, if not many positives when you think hard and long enough, sincerely searching for them. There are infinite examples that can be made as compared to the infinite number of possibilities negativity can rear its ugly head. Here are a few simple examples to give deeper understanding:
1. When it rains one may think of it as a bad thing. However everything living relies on it, so it could and should be considered a good thing
2. An infection may be considered a bad situation. In most cases, after the infection is gone our bodies are stronger from having fought it off, which is a good thing
3. If we are to miss out on a promotion or even a good grade in school, we learn where we can improve and get better and as a result have an opportunity to learn from it and become more prepared and successful for future similar endeavors
Our greatest growth comes from the challenges that we face and overcome not as much from the successes we have. It’s important that we keep our minds in the right frame and not let negative thinking take over. As Norman Vincent Peale said, “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” Following the suggestions outlined in this article, you can have happiness and success in your life because you are inviting it to you. Allow negativity to find its way into your mind/thinking and you will find disappointment, frustration, struggle and other elements that nobody wants. So, guard your thoughts from them!
