You Are Who You Think You Are

I am going to start this piece off by telling you something that you may not want to hear. I truly believe, however, that if you are open and receptive to this idea, it will change your life for the better. Here it goes:

You are exactly where you are in life solely because of the way you think.

You may be rich, middle class, poor, fit, unhealthy, in a career you love, in a job you hate, etc; The one determining factor of your circumstances is your way of thinking. It’s the only reason why you are where you are. The only person you have to blame for your success or failure in life is yourself. I know some of you may not want to hear that, but its true. I know we all have our problems to deal with, but if you blame your circumstances, or anything that’s out of your control, for your problems, its up to those circumstances to change in order for you to be happy. With that way of thinking, you have no power over those situations, and ultimately you have no power over your life.

Now im not saying that you can just wish for success and it will be given to you, because we all do that. Everybody wishfully thinks of the life they want to live, yet so few of us actually attain it. What im talking about is a profound and lasting change in your attitude towards life, being able to stay positive and resilient throughtout any kind of situation; This is the way of thinking that can, and will, change you for the better.

Your thoughts precede your actions. All of your habits are birthed from thought, and these habits are what lead to behaviors, and those behaviors are what shape your circumstances in life.

Lets say you are underemployed, meaning that you aren’t making the kind of money that you feel you deserve. You blame the economy, blame your employer, or whoever else you can for your position in life. As a product of those negative thoughts you exhibit habits and behaviors that cause you to slack off while you are at work, because afterall, this job is beneath you so why would you try hard? These behaviors make it so that you never advance.

Lets take this same example and replace the subject with someone who has a positive attitude. This person is underemployed as well, but has a great attitude towards life and towards his work. He gives it his absolute best every time he is there. His work gets noticed by his supervisor and he gets advanced to a higher position.

See where im going with this? The two types of people share the exact same circumstances, but their attitudes towards those circumstances are what allows them to move forward, or holds them back.

In order to change anything that’s on the outside you have to start by making changes within yourself. Some people will wish for a better life but they never strive to make themselves better, and they wonder why their life isnt going anywhere. Life isnt “doing” anything to you, its responding to the energy you put out. If you fail to realize this, then you will continue to fail in life.

Nobody put a gun to your head and told you to work at McDonald’s. Im sorry, but you chose that.

If you want to find a way out of your circumstances start first with yourself, and you will see your life blossom. Read books, learn about the lives of the people you look up to to see what made them successful. Quit whining and moaning about your life. Take that energy you use complaining about what’s wrong with your life and use it to make positive changes.

The two mental road blocks and inhibitors to success are doubt and fear. You will never get anywhere in life if you are doubtful about every move you make. You also cant reach your highest goals if you are paralyzed by fear. The sooner you move away from these negative emotions, the better your life will be.

My goal here is not to turn you into a blindly optimistic person. Wishful thinking wont get you anywhere either. What im talking about is a major attitude adjustment, coupled with a fearless and relentless work ethic. Sounds tough right? Well it is but, I’m sorry, theres no shortcut to success.

What are you going to change today to make a better tomorrow?