Directional Thinking 10 Steps to Positive Thinking

this is audible directional thinking ten steps to positive thinking written by Benjamin Chapin narrated by Jay Pritchard introduction are you ready to take control of your life and guide it in a positive direction if you're exhausted by conversations about how poor the economy is how the job market is tanking and there's no hope then this book will inspire you to take control of your thoughts and experience life with new light and joy in new ways I wrote this book out of a sense of obligation to share what I've discovered I've been through some life experiences that forced me into learning how to stay positive day in and day out before I develop these steps and apply them to my life I was in a downward spiral somewhat depressed and sad I felt as if I had no direction and I lived in almost a constant state of fear I couldn't even enjoy a vacation without thoughts of fear taking hold of my every moment this behavior had to be overcome so I set out on a path to learn how to change my thinking I developed a system with which I was able to reclaim my mind and direct my thoughts through the pages of this book you'll discover the power and depth that your thoughts have and how much they control your reality you'll discover techniques that I personally use to keep positive thoughts coming into my mind while eliminating for the most part negative thoughts you'll learn how the remainder of the negativity they can't be eliminated will be used to fuel your direction and passions the mind is similar to a big yellow sponge while it can hold a considerable amount of information like the sponge it is limited in its capacity the mind like the sponge can only put out what it takes in and thus we have to be sure to soak up positive thinking in order to produce the positive results if we continuously pump negative information dirty water into our minds what kind of thinking life will we have it's been said if you are not moving forward you are moving backwards this quote was the inspiration for the title of this book our life has direction whether we acknowledge it or not the direction in which we are traveling is determined by our thoughts and where we want to go without a clear understanding of where you want to take your life your direction can change from moment to moment instead of being reactive to life as it comes at you this book will assist you in being able to be proactive with a clear precise understanding of thoughts and the role they play you'll be able to direct your life in a forward direction when you're the driver you control the vehicle when you're the driver of your mind you control your life to help you a little bit more I created a reference guide in PDF format that accompanies this directional thinking audio book the reference guide which is accessible from your audiobook library contains cutout cards so you can have a positive thinking reminder list wherever you are it also tells how you can receive my free directional thinking worksheets I hope the tools in this book are useful to you and I appreciate you reading it after the end of the final chapter there's a bonus hidden chapter that is included from my book Faline upwards directional thinking quotes you miss 100 the shots you don't take Wayne Gretzky change happens for you the moment you want something more than you fear it Eric McHale Leventhal you are not a helpless victim of your own thoughts but rather a master of your own mind Louise hey your mind is a tool you can choose to use any way you wish Louise hey our greatest weakness lies in giving up the most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time Thomas a Edison once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones you'll start having positive results Willie Nelson positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking well Zig Ziglar in order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision Dali Lama one discovered thought life the greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude Oprah Winfrey the act of thinking is something that comes so naturally to us that we often do not even think about it our thoughts are the single most powerful influence we have on the direction of our life to make the transformation over to a positive thinking life we have to understand the dynamics of our thinking first did you know that a single thought a single decision in your life can change the course of your existence years ago while my wife and I were dating long-distance ouch I know we thought about issues we had and didn't really have very good conversations one day my wife prompted me with a question well an ultimatum which was I was either to drop the petty topics about ex-boyfriends or she's done after a quick five-second moment of thought I quickly agreed to drop it and the problem was solved I decided not to let my thoughts focus there that five-second decision of thought rippled through my entire life I ended up relocating to her state marrying her and starting our life together understanding the role our thoughts play is crucial to living happy successful and enjoyable lives humans share many of the same desires we desire to be important wealthy happy and stress-free in our daily life the key to making this a reality has nothing to do with money nothing to do with the amount of friends or status at the Country Club it has to do with what we think about and dwell on the results we see in our life are in direct correlation with the thoughts we process what we dwell on what we focus on what we pursue all comes into existence before our eyes when you spend your time focused on the good in life and what brings you peace happiness and joy you will output what you take into your mind the Bible mentions that a few times a man reaps what he sews what you plant into your mind you will end up reaping from it whether it's good or bad Newton's third law states for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction an example of newton's law is when we direct our mind to push forward into positive thinking we will move forward people have influences and direction coming into their mind through the media books magazines friends family and co-workers even strangers we are passing by in the supermarket or on the sidewalk can be an influence that enters the mind what we spend our time daydreaming about and focused on is an indicator of the direction in which we are going if we think about nothing we will become nothing recognising the negative influences in our thinking life is a good step towards changing our thinking but it's only the beginning of the journey gaining control over your thoughts is not as easy as it sounds there isn't an app for that but the good news is it also isn't too difficult once you gain experience and practice in doing it practice makes perfect even when it comes to our thoughts not only that you'll actually start enjoying the process when you see your positive thoughts effortlessly manifesting themselves into your reality on a daily basis gaining control over your thoughts means gaining control over your life with everything that happens to you being a product of your thoughts and beliefs thoughts are simply a preview of what's up next in your life think of it as a movie trailer you don't know what the movie is exactly like but you have a pretty good idea of what it'll be about it's the same with thoughts you're thinking life determines your reality if you have negative thoughts fears paranoia etc all of them lead to negative results which end up being your reality are you beginning to see how your thoughts are powerful the fact is the power you have to control your life is unsurpassable amplify this power by gaining control over your thoughts and you will start controlling and creating your reality as you see fit you have the power to change the course of your life and choose your path don't fall victim to the world of social conditioning don't succumb to the pressure to be normal which is a facade who determines what normal is social conditioning is the old-school mindset of fit in or die when dinosaurs roamed the earth we had to stick together in groups or we would surely die somehow that train of thought has made it to the modern day and people love to blend in with the crowd the problem with blending in is that most people don't have control over their thoughts and more importantly their life chances are you've already blended but that's okay you can now see through the curtains of propaganda and mainstream media and think for yourself gain control of your mind your thoughts and your behavior having control of your thoughts will enable you to experience true bliss and lasting happiness you don't have to live your life in a daze going through the motions every day make life like you've always wanted it to be it's important to always remember that you have the power to change the course of your life forever by simple thoughts question and answer at the end of every chapter there will be some question and answer time it's just to keep you thinking and keeping some of the topic challenges fresh in your mind how often do you think about the direction your life is going how powerful do you see your thoughts to be right now do you see yourself as a positive person step2 negativity and its role that's my gift I let that negativity roll off me like water off a duck's back if it's not positive I didn't hear it if you can overcome that fights are easy George Foreman once a telegraphic operator had an idea he formed this idea because he didn't accept the reality that was all around him he looked at the world and saw how it could be different instead of conforming to the world around him he told the world to conform to him this man saw what the world could be not what the world was he believed there should be a different way to provide light instead of just using gas lamps for lighting this man was Thomas Edison was the value in his idea or in the fact that he followed through with the idea did he need positive thinking in order to persist and follow through to the end most likely negative thoughts can destroy a myriad of things they can also zap physical energy and hold people back from succeeding in their lives the scariest part of negativity is revealed when it convinces you that you're not good enough to rise above your circumstances and therefore you stop trying there's a confusion in society about negative thoughts society tends to think people who are depressed and in a poor mean mindset are the only ones affected by negativity this isn't true the poor me point of view people are acknowledging something is not right in their life at least there's a step beyond the poor me it's called the everything is fine this territory is dangerous because when a person gets here they accept reality thoughts and life the way it is without a desire to grow it's when a person is removed from all ambitions goals etc that they go through the motions day in and day out they enjoy their job and they make enough money to get by they invest in some low investments and go on a couple of vacations a year they're just fine with their life while being content and satisfied in life is a desired goal being content along with stopping mental progression is not ideal when you stop learning and moving forward and start autopilot in your life you stop growing and when you stop growing you stop living don't stop learning because of the negativity bug of I know enough what can a person do about the negativity that's in his or her life they have to redefine and re image their identity to a degree unless you think you're the greatest thing since sliced bread nobody on earth is going to think you are either your confidence in yourself is the key to keeping negativity out the reality of the world is that it's full of garbage but there's also good so we shouldn't toss our hands up and say screw it I'll conform to negativity instead we say in spite of the current state of world affairs my life is moving forward we have to understand the importance of our mind and we have to act as a gatekeeper between the garbage and our mind it's so vital to protect our minds from the negativity gremlins as a child we would sing a song that went along the lines of be careful little eyes what you see be careful little ears what you hear the point is we have to protect ourselves from the negative information that provides no actual use in our life don't get me wrong it's good to understand what's going on in the world but I haven't watched the news in over two years and can you believe I've been informed about every major issue that's happened I heard all the mainstream media without even tuning in sources like Facebook and co-workers consume the news for me and let me know what I need to know one of the reasons I don't watch the news is because I know every single Network is in business I know they are attempting to turn a buck and part of that buck is me as a viewer so they'll push what they need to in order to increase viewership it's not personal its business I recall I was pretty freaked out when I stopped watching the news I had a sense that I was missing out on the world but after a few days and skimming the headlines online I realized I missing anything in fact I was relieved of a huge weight the world before I stopped watching the news I was under the impression the news didn't affect me and I just liked to be informed but the reality was I was feeding my mind loads of information the majority of it being negative all at once it was flushed out of my mind and cleansed from my thinking life when we flush out negativity we have to replace it in order for the change to systematically work when a void is created it has to be filled in and replaced with something or it'll cave in for myself replacing news was done by reading the Bible and listening to uplifting sermons and radio this helped condition my mind to find hope and see good in the world once a negativity chunk is removed it's essential to replace it to make the change long-term chunks of negativity can be deeply seeded from our past experiences some individuals experienced a difficult childhood in which they were repeatedly told you will never become anything or you will never make anything out of your life even if it wasn't fertilized it was felt by some growing up people that grew up in this type of environment we'll need to conquer their past hurts and rebuild if your thoughts still linger on childhood issues simply avoid letting your focus go to those painful experiences whether you had a rough childhood or not an excellent way to replace those holes would be to listen to motivational speakers expound on success life etc you can find entire audio books lectures keynote speeches and more on youtube the options and resources are endless with the internet at your fingertips while negative influences will always be right around the corner they do have a place within our lives we can eliminate a large amount of them in our lives but some won't be removed nor will you want them removed the fact is without the downside without a little pain little heartache once in a while we can't truly experience the highs that life has to offer us without the presence of negativity in our life we would have no high points we wouldn't have any low points and it would just be middle of the road all the way through life that is not what life is about life has emotional highs and lows and all sorts of different experiences we have to mitigate the negative as much as possible in order to succeed have you ever met someone negative chances are you have it's a well-known fact that negative people suck to be around everybody knows someone or has been around someone that seems to be negative all the time and they suck the air out of the room we have to be on the offensive because we battle that negative energy with positive while we can't control other people and the way they conduct themselves we can protect our minds from being consumed and conformed to others negative output being in battle can cause weariness and all the negativity might make some people to back off from friends like that mostly because people realize they might not have been a true friend to begin with while changing into these new habits and heightened awareness you'll discover that many friends family co-workers and others will be resistant to the changes you're attempting to make change can be uncomfortable to people and that's totally understandable however change is required for growth and development and for directing life in the direction you want it to go it's when we decide to change for the better we decide to change our lives forever question-and-answer how often in your life do you find yourself in the poor me mindset being held back by negativity in your life do you know anyone who is negative do you feel they influenced you step 3 opening the positive floodgates people look at the negative side of what they feel they can't do I always look on the positive side of what I can do Chuck Norris when was the last time that you experienced wishful thinking after our childhood years we tend to stop thinking about our dreams aspirations and all the good things in life that we want to achieve instead we just focus on our problems and get drowned and how difficult it is to get rid of all the issues that are going on in fact when someone does advise us to think a little more positively we cringe inside at the thought I've been there and I recall thinking to myself you have no idea what I go through this thinking isn't conducive to creating solutions and sets up a roadblock to thinking positively instead we need to grasp the importance of positive and forward thinking when we begin to allow that positivity into our minds and understand how some individuals have positive insights to offer we can start channeling the positive energy in the form of thoughts into our own thoughts and life does this mean we'll no longer have to deal with life's ups and downs if we practice and harness positive thinking know the roadmap to successful positive thinking includes unpleasant experiences in fact it requires them while they will not be eliminated they will be approached in a new more positive way we need to be able to see the best a situation can offer and stay upbeat and positive there's an old saying if you're going through hell right now don't stop people have difficulties and struggles every day it's not about the outcome so much is how we choose to respond and think during those times how we choose to respond is set up by our thinking life and what it consists of if we have a positive can-do attitude in our thinking life that'll transfer into our real-world situations and experiences our brain processes everything that we come in contact with we need to make sure it's processing valuable information that is positive and is good if you feed your brain positive thoughts you'll become a more positive person and transform your thinking in the process if you stress about the problems of the world the issues with the Joneses down the street and are overly obsessed with the price of gas rising daily you'll live in a much different reality than the more positive thinking individual we have to break the bonds and ties to the negative and induce the positive in our life the biggest problem I experienced with negative thoughts was the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about them once I'd ventured down that direction the more concerning the problem the more I'd have a desire for more information about that problem and the more I would stay focused on it focusing on problems was feeding my brain nothing good only everything bad here's a guideline of what you can do to start taking control of your thoughts and increasing your positive input right now evaluate and decide what's a negative thought or feeling you have you might need to dwell on it if you're a news watcher recall some of the stories you heard recently that disturbed you and negatively focused thought an idea and go down another level when you felt that disturbance or pain what specifically did you think about surrounding that issue now think about something or someone that brings you joy write that down and also write down what comes to mind specifically that makes you glad about it you have to make a decision to feed your mind the good in life or the bad these decisions come across our plate on a daily consistent basis while we as humans are naturally quite good at being hedonistic we seem to be desensitized to a lot of negative bad energy and so we accept it we can spend an incredible amount of hours feeding our mind on the unimportant but spend so little time on what is truly important and significant in our lives feeding our mind is already happening what does your mental food intake look like is affirmations a positive affirmation is you vocalizing out loud positive thoughts and ideas to yourself or possibly others if you can't vocalize it out loud tell yourself it in your head while it's technically different it's still you telling yourself information another positive affirmation could be self-talk the process of talking to yourself you have to make sure you avoid all negative thoughts during this process though so you don't have a chat about something negative doing that would drive you down a direction you do not wish to travel play the role mimic that which you wish to become whose behavior do you want to mimic maybe it's an ideal version of you that's positive and energetic whatever the case is get that image in your mind's eye dwell on how that person handles situations and conducts his or herself in life keep it all in mind as you conduct your own self in life the subconscious mind have you ever had a thought or feeling suddenly surface in your conscious mind maybe you recalled information you didn't realize you had in your mind from years ago that's the work of the subconscious mind the subconscious we each have doesn't have the ability to reason or make choices it accepts what is pressed upon it by the conscious mind use this to your advantage by absorbing as much information direction and advice you can find that is positive taking this action will press positivity into your subconscious and eventually it'll become part of your identity those are some quick ways to get the ball rolling with positive thinking that are also surefire ways to make quick changes at the end of this chapter or even right now take the time to put some of them into practice and see where it takes you we are what we think and when our thinking life is full of positive thoughts and direction we can steer life in the direction we want it to go positive thoughts will affect how we make decisions and decisions are made every day in our lives our careers relationships and lives overall will be more positive when we take control of the positive and allow it to rule in our minds we only have one life one chance to live and when we spend our time and energy being positive those seeds of positivity turn into trees with roots and they will yield fruit society under rates the power we have because brains are a free gift given at birth and they thus somehow lose value because we didn't pay for them society places value on items when we are required to pay large amounts of money for said items the more money you spend the more value the item has our minds and our thought life are the most valuable assets we will ever own in our lives and we don't need to spend a dime to acquire them it's important to recognize this the direction our life is going is directed by the thoughts and information our brains are consuming keeping the consumption level for the positive above the level of the bad is essential for positive growth question and answer how often do you hit roadblocks on your path to successful positive thinking did learning about how your subconscious mind works help you see the power of positive thinking how often will you focus your mind on opening those positive floodgates step four identifying the good and the bad we can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses Abraham Lincoln to identify good and bad we have to recognize what is being presented to us oftentimes in life our brain is processing so much information so quickly that it skips over a lot the reason for this is because the mind is busy processing big processes that require a lot more resources while little ones are often filtered out and put off to the side an example of this is when you get up and walk to another room you're not thinking about placing your foot on the ground and applying pressure specifically in order to stand up nor are you thinking about every part of your body as you stand up and start to walk if we were that slow mentally we would live in a much different world do you recall when you were learning to walk though probably not but most of us have seen a child learn to walk they fall continuously while trying to balance holding themselves up etc the child is required to use all of his or her focus while engaged in this learning process after it's mastered your brain filters it out and focuses on more important items such as where you're attempting to go or what you're trying to do this filtering that our brain programs itself with is great to filter out the mundane but it does present issues when the filter is filtering out the positive in our life leaving it tossed by the wayside that's why we need to press into our subconscious positive thinking and positive thoughts the more positive influences we absorb the more we'll be able to appreciate and see the positive in the world around us an extreme example of negative versus positive would be what I call a color crayon on the floor in a world in which negative thoughts consume reality thoughts could circle around someone could fall or my children don't pick up after themselves in a world in which positivity is the driving force you see the crayon and you think about how your child or children are growing up so quickly and look at the wall full of pictures of mom and dad you then smile as you make the simple three-second gesture to put the color crayon back where it came from both scenarios were technically the same situation in the physical world but each had an entirely different experience in the thinking world identifying the good in life is fairly simple when you have a heightened awareness and are thinking positively it comes down to perspective it's about seeing reality from a different angle and seeing the value that's there instead of just seeing the pain or inconvenience a common misconception that many people have is that they're under the belief there's nothing in their life to be happy about they believe everything is the worst it has ever been and that they are the most unlucky person to ever exist in all of human history an excellent way to find positive influences in life is to watch and observe the people you love watch how they interact with each other when it's positive you'll see their love their smiles and their energy as they engage in conversations even if it's a stranger at the airport that's seeing their family find these moments in life which evoke positive emotion and thoughts admire the connections and bonds that are shared finding time to appreciate people for being human and existing is a doorway to opening your mind up to being grateful for everything in your life when you become grateful your eyes will open to even more positive thoughts and influences feed and nurture behavior that's good in yourself and others and you'll see how much positivity each can yield there are moments in life that supercharge positive thinking and these triggers can be used to help fuel the positive thinking engine these moments are pretty normal to experience so preparing for them is easy you know something is coming up so you can prepare and plan to stay in a positive mindset and stretch that time and positive influence as long as possible here's a list of some common triggers that supercharge our positive thinking tank a job promotion marriage payday weekends graduation bonuses new baby birthdays when these large rushes of positivity wash over us it's easy to smile and it's easy to think positively throughout the experiences but many don't attempt to hold on to them the trick is to keep focusing on the entirety of the positive throughout the experience talk about it if possible while you're there and continue after you leave the experience take pictures and videos so you can recall these experiences more easily taking steps to prepare and enjoy the experiences to the max is a great way to get more fuel for your positive thinking life to identify the negative areas of life it takes close to no effort it's on the nightly news it sprinkled through relationships conversations our working lives and even seeps into our churches to identify negativity one thing to look for is a lack of hope and Trust the lack of hope and Trust is also the reason why it's an easy enemy to subdue when faced head-on facing off head-to-head with the enemy can sound like a scary encounter from some sort of war movie but the reality is far different there's a battle between good and bad thoughts in your mind on a daily basis when someone attempts to speak with you about something you know is a negative topic change the subject immediately if you can if you feel that it would be rude or don't wish to do that you have other options another choice is to bring positive thinking into the conversation by shedding light on a good point of view regarding the topic at hand people in the mindset of poor me or the world is so bad hate positive thinking and will agree or at least get quiet a great example would be a conversation surrounding politics or anything along the lines of rumors what the government is thinking about doing or some other topic that's dependent on future outcomes when conversations gravitate towards such directions it's always good to take control of the situation instead of talking about what if scenarios I like to say what bearing does what insert politician is thinking about doing have on your life whatsoever the usual response to this seems to be well they're probably going to do this and then we're screwed at this point I like to respond with well what are you going to do about it I have no problems with people being concerned and informed on the topics and news of the world the problem comes when it consumes your entire life and you fret over the what-if scenarios what strange is that most of the people with a what-if concerns aren't even involved with any groups attempting to solve the problems they fret over the problems in the world are not our burden to carry our responsibility is to vote for the correct candidates if you want to join a group and pledge support that's your decision people who insist on carrying weight of the world's problems on their mind are toxic to positive thinking the world has been corrupted and is always a little sideways check out your Bible or check out the history books it's nothing new we don't need to avoid these people we just need to be careful to direct conversations away from topics that are negative triggers everybody has had a bad day now and then these days come and go but they can escalate into the worst day ever when we aren't careful to see them coming here's a short list of common triggers for negativity that can jump-start a bad day spilt milk argument with a loved one bad hair day Monday job loss politics death you can and should design a list of negative and positive triggers that fit your reality and life you don't need to make this list and keep it in a specific location just write things down and take a look at them sometimes it needs to be instilled in your mind that these triggers can shift your life dramatically very quickly identifying these triggers will help you in predicting the positive and negative triggers in your life if you get a little sideways and you're thinking you can turn to your list of positive triggers and use that positivity to reset you back on track this would also work with pictures from good vacations and enjoyable times in your life connecting your mind to a positive memory will help set the mood if you focus on it properly the negative triggers are directions you'll want to avoid so that you aren't triggered to a negative mindset and/or attitude the negative train of thought is so dangerous instead of thinking through a problem and resolving it the negative thinker just sits on the problem and never moves forward you can't think negatively without sitting your mind down and focusing on the problem any ideas about solving the problem would be positive and would loosen the bonds of the negative train of thought without a desire or trigger to think positively a person will sit and stew in this negative thought limbo for quite some time if you do find yourself trapped in a box of negativity and there appears to be no way out just change your state of mind by changing position if you're sitting stand up and smile shifting your body's position will help jolt you out of the bad frame of mind if you encounter people who are continuously negative in the relationship comes across as toxic you might consider reducing your time spent around them this type of person goes by the name of pessimist the sole purpose of the pessimist is to instill doubt fear and hold people back as much as possible from achieving anything they also insist on expecting the worst but never actually preparing for the worst most of us myself included have been in a pessimistic mindset at some point of our lives this distorted reality that the pessimist lives in is caused by the opposite of positive thinking bad thinking and poor habits curtailing negative thought as a lifestyle is the ultimate goal the reason for this is because negative thought limits our abilities and our power over our lives negativity itself no matter how much you avoid it will always exist in one way or another instead of killing it which you can't you'll need to keep it in a mental box and go ahead and leave it in the corner if you have an issue at work leave it in the work box and don't bring it home if you have issues circling you at home leave it in your home box so you can remain productive while at work here are some common mishap scenarios which can be reworked to avoid the spiral into negativity your world didn't end the moment your car broke down this morning you have to think about the rest of the day so you can remain productive don't waste energy and time worrying and freaking out about your problems just resolve the issue and move on spending too much time dwelling on the problem will toss you into a direct spiral downward if you hate your job instead of stewing every day do something about it you have options you can change jobs you can start your own business or you can improve your skills in order to move up in the company if you desire you have to remain positive in order to achieve any of those options a defeatist attitude will say you're not good enough to work anywhere else you have no way to start a business and your skills are already maxed out that limited thinking will hold you back every time if your romantic relationship isn't satisfying instead of convincing yourself it's the other person's issues that caused all the problems identify what you can do in the relationship relationships have two parts always trying to control the other person will guarantee failure instead work on what you can do within yourself these scenarios might seem like no brainers but when in the moment it can be hard to keep your emotions and thinking in check learning and identifying when your thoughts begin to drift sideways will help you identify the good and bad mental triggers all throughout your life your scenarios and triggers may be different than what I outlined in this chapter take some time to write down what triggers you have for good and bad areas of your life if you have a short list that's okay it'll grow with time be sure to track what enrages you with negativity and what delights you with pleasure question and answer how often do you and are you going to observe the ones you love sited are you to make a list of positive triggers in your life are you going to distance yourself from the negative influences in your life Step five when to say yes and when to say no I don't know that success but the key to failure is trying to please everybody Bill Cosby humanity shares a unique gift that we all possess this gift is the power of free will we all have the power in our life to decide with that power we have the ability to determine when we'll say yes and the times in which we choose to say no in any given situation that might arise taking control of your thinking life in the direction your life is going involves using the correct timing of a yes or a No sometimes these decisions are difficult but they're necessary in order to end up where we're trying to direct our life it's through the power of yes and no that we create time time is a commodity that has more value than money and we all could use a little more how many times have you hit periods in your life in which you said yes to a request but really didn't want to maybe you wanted to initially and changed your mind later on but did it out of guilt it's happened to all of us at one point or another what about saying no have you missed an opportunity because of a no response and later regretted that decision being the yes person isn't merely unhealthy it can cause serious amounts of stress and feelings of inadequacy the problem with always being the yes man or woman is that you stretch yourself so thin across multiple areas instead of excelling in one area you lose focus saying yes doesn't only get you into a bad habit the people you say yes to always seem to be coming back for more at heart we all want to make the people in our lives we care about feel good and say yes at every request instead of viewing it as saying no to someone we care about we should understand it's more damaging to say yes and underperform on the request or be angry doing so saying yes to impress a friend boss or colleague is never a good idea we want to progress in life and oftentimes we associate working more hours in a day on weekends and taking on overwhelming tasks with a way to win in life while this might work at times it's not the healthiest way to move in a forward direction with your career an example of a scenario where a temptation of yes would be present is a boss asking you to stay a few hours late for a project at work one day this seems okay initially but as you stay late night after night it becomes expected of you to stay late the power of saying yes at the right time is crucial a false move and we can work ourselves quickly into a hole of our own making a more appropriate approach for that scenario would be saying I'd like to but my wife owns me after 5:00 p.m. how about we find some free time during the normal working hours or yes I can stay a little bit later tonight then push about how often schedule etc that way you don't lose control of your life and time you might have an employer but they don't own you you still are in control of your life and have the power of making decisions you have to stay firm with the people around you and provide boundaries and lines I don't believe the majority of people tend to cross lines on purpose but it's hard to avoid crossing a line that you can't see there are times in life when saying yes is required to unlock the positive outcomes and results in your life that you desire when you decide to say yes to your life you begin to open doors to opportunities you never knew existed please see the emphasis I'm putting on saying yes to life not the boss not a needy friend not a stranger your life while there are scenarios in which you say yes to those people ultimately you want to be saying it to your own life when you open a door it leads to other doors you never knew existed every time you make the decision to say yes to positive opportunities you're feeding your mind with positivity you're also moving your life in a positive direction the more you can identify the good opportunities to say yes to the more you're going to unlock the ability to think of Lee on a consistent basis so what happens if you need to think about a situation before making a decision allow yourself some time to process and Mull it over a good rule of thumb would be the bigger the decision the more time that should be allotted to think it over this might seem a bit strange and perhaps like overkill but if we realized the amount of opportunities that are missed we'd slow down to make sure we're making the right choices often if we say no and aren't part of the experience we were invited into we might never know what we even missed out on society and general thinking teaches us that the word know has a very negative connection tied to it most people associate it with being mean rude or sometimes even hateful the truth is when you say no in the right circumstance you're really saying yes to yourself and your own life you're saying yes to being your own pilot and say no to being controlled a good example would be the boss requesting you come into work this weekend to catch up on a project you had plans to travel out of town but they could be easily canceled what do you do you say no to work and say yes to life it's probably not smart to always turn down work but you have to find that balance that works for you you are after all the star of your own show saying no at the right time is crucial and often times can define our lives for instance when coupled with the power of thinking the following scenario is so powerful and yet it's actual span of time is roughly five seconds Jimmy a senior in high school decided it was time for he and Sandy to have sex Jimmy approached sandy and asked her if she'd be down for that she hesitated and then replied yes even though she didn't want to and said we don't have a condom should we be worried Jimmy replied no this five-second conversation between Jimmy and sandy shaped the rest of their lives sandy got pregnant that night sandy and Jimmy made the wrong decisions about when to use yes and no that night if they were more in tune with reality they could have changed the course of their entire life they didn't though and now their lives are changed forever our thinking life or lack thereof shapes our future when you decide to use the no do not provide a list of reasons from my personal experience it can come off as a laundry list of excuses and communicates to the one receiving it that you're not confident with your decision to say no depending on how close you are to the person or the situation you're in they'll request information to as why you're giving them a no when this happens you can then go ahead and provide the list of reasons if you feel inclined to do so the difference will be that they requested it and they're receiving what they requested instead of just getting it to begin with when you give your reasons don't rely on emotion and feelings if at all possible because the person receiving the list might not reciprocate those same feelings instead keep it simple and to the point then move on people who rely heavily on you always saying yes might be angry about your newfound change but don't worry about it the more angry and distant they become the more you'll realize the possibility that you may have been just a tool to accomplish their own desires while there is great advantage to saying no you do have to be careful not to overuse it the power and flavor will be lost if you change from a yes person to a no person overuse will lead to people deeming you as unreliable and unavailable all the time opportunities you do want in your life can vanish and never appear again because people deemed you unwilling to do anything and won't even attempt to approach you this is why it's important to be cautious when saying no and give your mind some time to think it over as you become more proficient in identifying opportunities you can respond more quickly to situations and conversations identifying opportunities for yes and no responses isn't difficult when you spend time and thought the fact is every day the Sun rises and the day is new which is an indicator that there are decisions to be made some will be easy and some difficult and these decisions shape our life as we know it it's not only our life that's affected by our decisions when deciding on a yes or no answer the life of those we love also comes into play identifying the right response is crucial to directing our life in a positive forward direction question and answer how excited are you to have learned about saying yes to your life how free do you feel now that you've learned how to say no to people are you ready to make real changes with these two small words step 6 consumption Junction people produce bored people consume Steven Richards mind is the core of our body it directs everything about our bodily functions most of the processes it runs we have no clue on how they operate but our brain does it runs the show and ask for nothing in return we provide our minds with all the information and data they need in order to operate properly our minds continuously process information throughout our daily lives the mind doesn't care if something is positive or negative it'll consume whatever it's fed it can be books music food TV shows computer games conversations work etc the list is endless and the positive and negative thoughts associated with each Avenue are also what we're feeding into our minds manifests in our decisions and actions every day these can be subtle and not-so-subtle but they are ever-present if we watch the news and consume large amounts of news which tends to be negative how's our outlook on the world I've never met someone who watches the news and has a positive outlook on life they tend to worry and fret about ideas that circulate via the news while the news company profits on people's fear these corporations are in the business to make money and plane on fears and pain is how it's done in their business primarily there's a lot of crap in the world but that doesn't mean you need to consume crap just like you wouldn't eat a literal piece of crap you shouldn't let your mind munch on it what kind of mental food are you allowing your mind to consume is your mind healthy and on a strict diet or is it consuming loads of crap our body when something is digested that doesn't provide nutritional value has organs that assist in filtering out the waste and excreting it our mind doesn't have that ability it's required to process what is pressed upon it the more negativity you take in the more it'll be pressed upon your subconscious and into your thought processes while avoiding negativity is important there will be countless times during which you won't be able to avoid the negativity the trick to use here is to consume more positive input than we consume negative input that way when negative ones come we can withstand them because the majority of our thoughts are positive positive thoughts begin with positive consumption these positive inputs can be found anywhere you're willing to look the price a little bit of your time but the investment is well worth it the fastest way to consume positive input is turning to loved ones in life treating the people you love with love and kindness will return a positive investment to yourself most of the time if you want to increase your positive input regarding a specific goal you have find the positive inside of and centered on that goal for instance if you're seeking to start a business but your thoughts are clouded by rough economic times and a down economy start studying about how to start a business in a tough economy Google and YouTube are hugely useful resources in your tool belt that you can utilize to help further your goals and desires by the positive consumption of their resources these positive inputs build up your confidence and help shape the vision you want for your future as your mind consumes the positive reinforcements it'll shape that vision into reality your mind holds the key to unlocking the direction of your life you just have to feed it good fuel consuming negative input sounds like a crappy thing but it doesn't have to be all bad if you consume the negativity and don't let it consume you you'll unlock a diamond the size of your fist figuratively of course you see when we're faced with a trial problem or difficulty we tend to stress out and shut down our input receptors this is not the correct approach instead we need to consume the negativity for fuel I know it sounds insane but it's true here's a great example for my own experience if you're running short on rent this month and are also trying to build a business you have two options you can let this shortcoming destroy you and cast doubt and fear into your thoughts or you can consume and digest the issue problem as fuel it becomes fuel because you look at the problem as this is exactly what I want to avoid I want to make sure this does not happen in my life that's fuel to push the business venture further the funny thing about problems is that usually always work themselves out I've had financial issues in the past but I've never died from one if you can take a negative thought feeling or situation and take control of it you can use it to fuel your desired direction in life this fuel is often more powerful than the fuel you get from positive energy when we can consume the problem as a whole we control the problem and we can use that to fuel our passions when issues arise instead of running in the opposite direction we analyze the situation in order to solve it and just gobble it up for fuel as we move past the problem it's a strange concept but I've used it for direction and fueling in my own life and it works wonders the reason it works is because people are driven by passion and that passion requires a fuel that fuel has to be consumed in order to keep the passion driving in the forward direction what is your passion what are your desires for your life aspirations and dreams help paint a clearer perspective on what we desire to achieve oftentimes these goals appear silly and outrageous when we have negative thoughts and emotions consuming our mind our thinking life steers our life our decisions identify our consumption habits if someone wakes up just in time to grab a cup of coffee and head out the door to work sits at a desk for eight hours and comes home just to sit in front of the television until they go to bed what do you think they're consuming digestive ly they're consuming coffee as far as we know but mentally they're tuning out of positive consumption opportunities they have no time in the morning to have time for themselves before heading out the door to work once off of work they tune out in front of the television and consume hours of programming the television provides information for our mind to consume the shows we watch the news we tune into etc all of that is feeding our mind positive or negative thoughts and feelings even though you might feel tuned out you're never truly tuned out your mind is always feeding and processing information everything you feed your mind is processed and stored even if you can't recall what you watched last night on TV your brain stored it away the brain is an amazing instrument and is the greatest tool we'll ever owned in our lives in order to remove the junk out of life we have to identify where the junk is located we've already covered how to identify the good and the bad so now it's time to start cleaning house and replacing the negative with the positive a useful consumption habit I personally have developed over time has been experimenting with music music tends to draw on emotion and make us feel in different ways music also has been known to help organize thoughts certain kinds of music tend to induce certain emotions these can vary from person to person upbeat and positive music energizes me and I can feel the blood coursing through my veins I embrace these emotions and I'm fully aware of them so I can experience them more powerfully the reason the music creates these emotions and makes positive energy more intense is because I'm directing my focus into it where we put our focus is where our mind will consume and absorb the most that's why it's important to give focus to the positive as much as you can focus is one of the most fundamental pieces of the puzzle when it comes to learning how to be more positive learning is another excellent way to consume positive information pick a topic that interests you and learn everything you can about it if you have religious beliefs like me read your Bible or whatever holy documents history books you have I personally spent many months studying the Bible i started out reading it but found myself not able to spend much time doing so and wanted to listen to something instead so I found audio recordings live sermons and other resources on specific topics I wanted to dig into more I would listen to hours upon hours at home in the car at work everywhere I went and it kept feeding my mind this positive food I was providing to my mind helped me get out of the negative sinkhole I was in and transformed how I think I found something that I was interested in and gave my focus over to it when you identify a positive thought emotion or experience give your focus over to it doing so is kind of like pumping gas into your car it's not something you announce to the people around you it's something you do consciously at first being a new driver but over time it becomes natural the more you practice directing your focus to positive sources the more you'll grow and it'll become part of who you are you'll be naturally drawn to positive resources you can see and automatically start pumping conversations and situations that are negative will become uninteresting and you'll be able to avoid them easily if you can't avoid them you'll figure out how to use this situation for fuel like we discussed earlier another consumption resource we encounter on a daily basis is the internet social media new sites Gaines etc all or areas that feed the mind some of the areas of the internet are amazingly excellent for being a positive resource others take the mind down a dark road and if you're not careful you can end up with more negativity than when you started this is important to keep in mind because when you're conducting research and learning about all the ideas and information you're interested in you'll see articles and information which is negative that's trying to capture your attention so that you click on it the Internet is packed with people who think they were abducted by aliens believe in secret societies and believe the world ended in 2012 all of these groups individuals and stories distract us from being able to feed our minds with positive resources we need to avoid these types it doesn't make us weak to avoid things which we don't want a part of I once heard of a very successful man who had special requests whenever he'd stay in a hotel he'd request candy and alcohol removed from his room before his arrival that's one case of someone successful knowing what he can't handle and so he won't even have the temptation near him this is not because he's weak-minded but he's protective of his greatest asset his mind he didn't want the thought of partaking in those items to cross his mind remember you are what you think your life is determined by your thoughts your actions and the decisions you make every day are a direct result of your thought life if you study your daily habits and keep the positive influences coming in at a higher rate than the negative ones you will progress forward in the direction you desire for your life it's not a chance it's what will happen a determined mind that's fully aware of the positive and negative influences in the world is a mind that can direct and steer their life the direction they want you'll become proactive and no longer be reactive to the world around you and answer how much time is spent consuming negative influential thoughts and energy do you feel as if you need to change your consumption habits did this chapter influence you to change your thinking on consumption habits of the mind step 7 expanding the mind I am still learning Michelangelo what comes to mind when you hear or read the word learning for many this word usually has a direct connection to school and education this is part of the reason that many people stop learning after high school and college by definition learning is the act of acquiring new knowledge and/or skills there's no required Institute or school system you must attend in order to learn learning is important and is required in order to progress in a forward direction in life why is learning so important it's required in all aspects of life it's required in relationships work school sports and so on it's fundamental to progression and development of skills and abilities our mind is the key behind what we learn about it learns by processing new information learning begins in the earliest part of our life when we come out of our mother's wounds we begin learning and processing information in the early stages we learn how to move breathed eat smile and scream my least-favorite in time the child begins to roll over crawl and eventually walk parents take every new skill and ability that the child acquires to heart and are filled with joy at each new Avenue these skills and abilities are natural and nobody teaches those muscles how to operate the brain teaches itself how to function and run the entire body when the child begins going to school is when he or she begins being taught learning how to articulate how to write and so on and eventually graduating from high school in college and then that's where the learning for a lot of people stops to expand your mind and develop your ability to think positively you will be required to learn you have to absorb and consume positive influences and let your mind teach you to be positive and embrace life in a positive manner as the mind taught your body as an infant to walk crawl and think you have to allow your mind to reteach you to think differently positive thinking is a lifestyle it's not a pill or a scheduled routine you can use in order to get the desired result to expand the mind you have to first expel the dirty water negative thinking tendencies in the previous chapter we discussed the consumption habits of the mind when we remove the dirty water from our sponge it creates room to absorb clean water positive influences sources of material to inspire positive thinking are endless if you have a computer or even a cell phone with an internet connection this book in itself is a source for positive thinking it's getting your focus away from negative thinking habits and getting your direction lined up when we have an overabundance of dirty water in our sponge we have no room for clean water learn and absorb as much positive information as you possibly can motivational speakers are a great way to keep your mind tuned onto something positive and get you all jazzed up for life if you're into business find information and videos on business related items if you have a desire to improve your relationships go after that the point of this endeavor is to expand your mind and your abilities and at the same time you consume positive influences the more information your mind processes the more the brain will absorb the information and it'll affect your life output if possible you can write down key points that you enjoyed while reading this book or in your research it'll help keep those thoughts fresh in your mind as you reread them later on speak to loved ones and friends about what you're learning and through the process of explaining the different points you'll actually relearn the material experts say that the best form of learning is when you're teaching while you don't want to bore your loved ones and friends away into oblivion mentioning and discussing key facts that you learned will help internalize the key points you took away from it and if they seem interested you can continue the conversation a technique which you can use to expand your mind every time you process new information on the interest you're pursuing is to ask yourself awesome questions aq what's an a Q it's an internal awesome question that goes far beyond how the weather is it digs deep inside into the mind let's say for instance you're watching a motivational speaker speak about getting up early in the morning to help create more time in your life hopefully while watching the speaker you're already motivated and in a good frame of mind you're probably feeling a little excited so you tell yourself that it'd be cool to get up an hour earlier with enough momentum you might even get up earlier for a while the problem though is you have to assign purpose to what you're doing you can discover a sign and experience purpose by asking an AQ for this instance you can ask yourself what would I do with an extra 30 hours a month what goals can I accomplish these questions are made awesome because they challenge your core and get the gears inside your head thinking forward when that alarm goes off an hour early and you feel the pain of getting up before you need to you'll direct your thoughts to the goals you have in your life and the passion that drives you will help launch you up expanding your mind take some time and mental effort but once on track it will eventually become a habit we live in a day and age where we have more resources and information than ever before not only are the resources openly available there at our fingertips and available in mere seconds I once sat in on a UCLA psychology class through an entire semester via online videos at zero-cost there's tons of great information and resources if we spend a couple minutes looking learning should not be stopped when we get the diploma it should last an entire lifetime question and answer how often do you learn something new have you spent time thinking about what you're going to pursue to learn are you going to start looking for chances to learn step 8 mental goal mapping people with goals succeed because they know where they're going Earl Nightingale thought and you'll fly this is from the classic story of Peter Pan this line might be from a child story but it speaks volumes to the individual that wants to succeed and achieve goals in his or her life in figurative language this line from Peter Pan teaches everyone that when you think positive and spend time thinking of your goals they will become possible our thoughts have such a strong influence on our lives they shape our daily lives decisions and future whether our thoughts are good or bad they are directing and leading us structure is required for our positive thinking to flourish how are we able to set goals for improving our abilities to think if our thoughts are so powerful and influence whatever happens in our lives is there a way to use thinking in order to lead us in the direction we'd like to go our brains as mentioned previously are incredibly powerful they can process an average of thirteen hundred to eighteen hundred words per minute with all this information processing ability we have we have to be aware of the influences that are going on around us for instance the television shows we watch the music we listen to the words we use in conversations the conversations that we involve ourselves with and more importantly the people we come in contact with on a daily basis what is mental goal mapping this is a system designed to assist you in setting goals for your thinking life in order to progress forward and positive thinking we have to know where we want to go and have a structured path to get there when we know where we want to go and abide mentally we can set our aim on the targeted areas and work towards that direction it's similar to shooting a gun at a target you have to aim in order to hit the target you can't load a gun and shoot all over the place hoping you hit the target you have to aim the gun in the direction you'd like the bullet to travel this is the same for any goals you want to achieve in life they require your aim let's run through some steps on how to set up your mental goal mapping one setting up the target don't be broad when setting goals try to be as specific as possible goals such as I want to get rich or I want to be a better dad are too broad those kinds of goals are similar to loading the gun and shooting without aim you might have bullets but you don't have direction and are not aiming at a specific target a good example of a specific goal would be I want to create a stronger bond with my daughter I can do this through meeting her at eye level when we converse and listening to her more closely that's a specific goal that you can consciously map in order to achieve another mental mapping goal could be I want to spend more time with my wife in the evenings to deepen our relationships connection and provide her with a love that she identifies as a need these mental goal mapping techniques have specific reasons that are connected to positive thinking the example used about the wife scenario would have the following reasons more Intune husband creating a stronger bond with my wife that is an example to my daughter and spending this time with my wife makes her happy which in turn makes me feel like a better husband these positive reinforcements help keep the target moving instead of hitting the goal and moving on it continues throughout life it's not a do a and get B it's more along the lines of while you do a you get B start thinking about the target goals you would like to set up to set the target where you're going to be aiming this is one of the oldest tricks in the book writing your goal down and putting it somewhere you'll see it I know but I am adding strategy this is important there have to be visual triggers in order to help remind you until it becomes routine for example the wife scenario might involve putting a sticky note on the computer screen so when you sit down to work on a side project you see the note and recall the goal you want to achieve you have to actively help condition your mind to these goals it'll get easier with time and eventually your goals will be a part of you instead of wishful thinking on a sticky note three aim fire then check the target for progress and adjust your aim accordingly in order to feel like you're getting somewhere with your goals you'll need to check on your progress similar to right after you take a shot at a target another example would be when you're hunting for a location with the GPS on your phone or reading a map you tend to check it as you progress to see how far you're getting towards your destination this is an important step because it's going to help build your confidence as you progress progression realization is a needed element if you're not progressing you have to reflect on areas where you're failing and adjust them everyone fails sometimes and that's just part of the experience when you fail it's often part of progressing if you're having difficulties with this step you can seek outside input the way you approach that is to approach people that are tied in to your goals and ask them questions surrounding your goal areas maybe make a comment to see how they respond an example would be with the wife scenario you could say I've sure enjoyed spending more time with you lately and then gauge the response and body language you'll get a surefire response and be able to interpret it the best indicators of progression should be found by relying on your internal mechanisms and thoughts look at the reasons for the goals you have and see if you're lined up with them you'll see your reasons coming to reality as you progress here are some questions you can ask yourself to check on your progress how far along am I in reaching my goal compared to where I was what successes come to mind so far what difficulties have I hit if difficulties were encountered how did I overcome them if I did not overcome the difficulties why for scope adjustments there will be ups and downs along the road and that's expected don't be disheartened by this don't let adjustments and changes in your goals make you feel defeated instead view them as one step closer to your goals the way you thought about an issue goal is going to be different at the beginning when you have no experience versus when you're actually on the road you can read about riding a bike for countless hours but until you actually ride the bike you don't fully get it five rinse and repeat once goals are hit and you're abiding in your new mental state it'll be natural to add additional goals and go after them also goals and desires never stop growing and our learning never does either there is always something to learn and go after in life your success depends entirely on your involvement in the process you have to have the desire and passion to take charge of your life and direct it in a positive way mental goal mapping is designed to take goals and embed them into who you are start mapping your goals and the reasons for each goal take some time to develop them thoroughly and chart your way to success be sure to track your progress and follow the outline as many times as needed thoughts are already our reality mental goal mapping is just a vehicle to use in order to get our mind on the track we desire it to be on and answer how often before now have you made goals if you've made goes before how successful were you do you believe that having reasons map to your goals can help achieve them step 9 self-discipline rule your mind or it will rule you Horace when I read the words self-discipline I think of a ninja who is a well-mannered man by day in a ninja by night while he can kick butt and take names when the occasion calls for it he remains controlled calm and pleasant when he wants to be your picture might be different self discipline isn't just for ninjas it's a trait we all should be striving for mastering it's a trait that doesn't get discussed very often and it's never a trait people are looking for when seeking a spouse could you imagine a dating headline for a woman stating woman seeking self-disciplined man I can't but it would be a good trait to seek after there are many elements involved in being self disciplined our primary focus is the self disciplined mind what is a self disciplined mind look like why is it crucial to the path for successful positive thinking earlier we discussed thoughts and how they guide our decisions there's another step to our decisions it's called follow-through self-discipline is what assists us and carrying out the obligations of our decisions in life once the positive feelings that were initiated in the decision process fade into the background you'll occasionally hit moments of despair you'll question what you're trying to accomplish what you're trying to do those moments in which we might give up but instead press on and persist those moments are made possible by a self disciplined mind often we lack self-discipline because we don't develop it we don't give ourselves the chance to press on through difficult times instead we duck out and avoid the opportunity out of fear the fear of failure is a huge factor in preventing our thinking life from moving forward the humorous part of failure is the fact nobody cares as much as we imagine they do controlling your thoughts focus and goals all require you to have a self disciplined mind having a self disciplined mind doesn't mean never taking a risk it's about calculating risk versus reward what if I don't accomplish anything and fail at what I'm trying to do what if I don't do it and never know these questions circle the thoughts around certain risk heavy decisions in life the easy route will always be to do nothing and avoid the possibility of failing learning self-discipline is the process of taking control of your entire mind as a whole when your mind comes under complete control of you your power is endless and unlimited for example when your mind and thoughts are under control and your mind is self disciplined you'll see issues and scenarios in an entirely different light what once seemed hopeless and dire now presents opportunities for positive connections and results without much effort of thought on your part without having a self-discipline mind it's very difficult to ever accomplish goals it's almost like your mind is on autopilot and you're sleeping in the cockpit one of the most common examples of people lacking a self-discipline mind would be when someone decides they want to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle while the person's intentions might be good the lack of being able to follow through will hold them back from ever being able to successfully lose the weight when a person is attempting to lose weight they tend to avoid certain foods some like chocolate ice cream bacon or maybe a delicious cheeseburger many struggle on their way to lose weight because they don't have the ability to resist the bad food items such as the ones I mentioned this is the direct result of a person who is lacking self-discipline the lack of the trait is the only thing that holds them back from being successful as you become more aware of your newfound ninja-like mind you'll have the strength to accomplish tasks that are much larger and more complicated no problem person or thing will get in the way of you accomplishing what you want and guiding your life in the direction you want the power is inside your mind you just have to unlock it and use it you'll also be able to filter thoughts easily as your mind becomes more self-disciplined the lack of garbage in what you're consuming will help keep your mind a clean slate ready to absorb what it needs to disciplined individuals are never late they're always efficient and effective with all sorts of work they participate in you might already see some indications in there that you have a somewhat self-disciplined mind and that's good you're already on your way here are some suggestions on how you can develop your self disciplined mind attempt to filter positive and negative thoughts by directing your focus to the positive and not dwelling on the negative if your mind is over cluttered with bad good mixtures of thought play music to clear it out work progressively on the mental goal mappings you've outlined regardless of other obligations going on in your life plan timeslots to help you accomplish your goals set an alarm or calendar reminder if applicable take every opportunity you can to follow the steps outlined in this book this will help develop your self-discipline another important note about self-discipline is its importance in conversation when we can hold our tongue and listen more we can learn instead of waiting to speak just truly listen it's an amazing ability that's hard to learn for some choosing the correct words is vital when speaking to others one bad sentence could toss someone into a downward spiral we each contain power in our words the power of suggestion is alive and well in our daily conversations when we communicate positive words to ourselves and/or the people around us it transforms into positive body language the mastering of self-discipline comes through consistently keeping your commitments to your goals yourself and the people around you as your mind comes under your control you'll feel a weight to slide off your shoulders question and answer did you picture yourself as a self-discipline ninja motivated are you to have self-discipline are you going to practice self-discipline in your daily life step 10 ready mindset go the good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything it's your mind you have to convince Vince Lombardi thoughts guide the direction your life is going to go in in order to get what you want in this life you have to go after it a can-do attitude is not only needed but required in order to succeed with your goals and desires if you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing you're right Henry Ford this quote has stuck with me through the years it speaks loud and clear on how important your thoughts are and how important your mindset is it's about how we look at situations and the mindset we adopt that makes the biggest impact in our lives when we face problems a large number of people are afraid of taking them head-on instead we play the blame game for our own predicaments we have to accept responsibilities and embrace problems for what they are which is just a mild inconvenience for a short period of time most of the time when we can calmly approach problems and analyze them we can solve them much more quickly the reason for this it's because we don't waste time playing the blame game flipping out and crying when we approach situations that can be problematic carefully we can see the situation from multiple angles while this doesn't prevent failure it can help mitigate issues in an efficient way failure will come and go in life there's no way to avoid ever having a big ole fail stamped across the forehead instead of living in fear and limiting your life by hiding and never doing anything great embrace it those moments you fail aren't the end their periods in which you recollect thoughts ideas and ambitions and change direction you're not a failure unless you stop trying and striving for word learn from your failure and keep pressing forward towards where you want your life to be having a fear of failure will hinder your mindset and can cause you to take less opportunities do not let this happen instead have a mindset that works for you instead of against you being happy is a decision it's also essential to a positive mindset while situations can be difficult at times you have the choice and how you'll react for instance my wife and I were attempting to move our couch into an apartment that had a cement wall right outside the door the couch was massive and the wall made the situation very difficult while we were getting the couch stuck and jammed between the wall in the doorway it began to rain at this point there was some stress creeping into the situation obviously but I just smiled and began to laugh it lightened the tension and we ended up getting the couch in just fine those moments in which stress feels like it's building and you get that sense of hopelessness you have a critical decision to make you're either going to react negatively or you're going to engage positively while laughing can piss people off when it's a stressful situation it can also help lighten the mood life is too short not to enjoy the ride it's an overused cliché but it's true while you pursue goals and ambitions enjoy the process along the journey you'll always have goals and desires so if you get into a mindset where you think I'll be happy win or I'll be successful when you will set yourself up for failure once you achieve your desired results something happens you discover new goals and ambitions that's why it's important to enjoy the steps along the way and relax it's important to keep your mood light and mindset positive if people around you don't like it just smile to stay in a positive mindset we have to learn to love other people and learn to forgive when you don't allow yourself to forgive someone the only person it hurts is you your mindset will suffer if you're thinking about how Jimmy ate the last donut when he knew you didn't even have one those are ninja stars of negativity that will hinder your ability to keep up positive I'm set instead give people the benefit of the doubt holding onto these petty feelings only holds you back and lets negativity seep into your mind always be in a teachable state in life the people in your life can always teach you something they might have zero to offer in the spectrum of intellectual thought but you can learn from how they interact with other people and yourself you can see how other people function and socialize with one another the mindset you have is super important to being able to think positively and stay positive through your daily life nobody ever accomplished anything monumental in their life by having a negative outlook and mindset it's important to keep this in mind when you hit those slumps you have unlimited potential when your mindset is positive and your outlook is hopeful you are the only person in the world that can direct your path in life and you are the key to having a good mental perspective on the world around you keeping a positive mindset will keep you out of the mental prison that so many people seem to be locked in the more success you have in keeping your mindset positive the more opportunities will become available without the correct mindset the opportunities will cease to exist in your mind and in your life the mental goal mappings that you have set up will help maintain the direction of your mindset as you achieve and unlock each goal you'll find new goals that challenge the core of your thinking it's a never-ending quest to excel and unlock the best in life when you keep your mindset positive you can be proactive in your life instead of living in a reactive state we have to avoid being the person that puts out the fires instead we take the matches away from the kid in the field of dry grass sitting idle and waiting for experiences to happen to you is a poor way to live and just plain lazy idleness is sometimes labeled as being content you can be content in life while in pursuit of aggression in your life guard your new positive mindset like it's gold some people might be offended by your changes and attempt to swat your ambitions down the reason for this isn't because people are bad it's because it's uncomfortable for someone to be different in the crowd sometimes you'll find your change influences people for the better they might identify their own need for change and be inspired by your newfound mindset and since of direction in your life that feeds your positive thinking and helps push you along the path you're already on recall and remember the positive experiences you have and use them to fuel the mindset of positivity the mindset is the overall umbrella that holds each of the pieces together this life we have is short even though some days feel long it's still short we don't have time to waste on negative thinking and pessimistic outlooks while we can't avoid negativity entirely we can manage it in a way they can prove useful to our life and that provide a fuel for our goals positivity in its consumption is what will keep us persistent in the long run its fuel and life sources essential empowering the minds thinking life and thoughts in order to consume positive sources in our life we have to set our focus on such things when we set our focus on the good in life we absorb the positive and are able to see the world in a more positive light our ability to see the world in a more positive light is achieved by allowing ourselves to be taught and learning everything we possibly can when we learn we tend to share and when we share positive information we're reteaching those positive points to ourselves all over again we can't give to the world what we don't possess so our consumption of positive sources is essential if we want to give positive results pushing upstream against the norm is difficult and requires mental self-discipline in order to achieve the desired results see how it all connects together our mindset of positivity is intertwined with multiple working pieces each piece of the puzzle is vital for successful positive thinking following these guiding principles and steps will lead to a positive thinking life for anyone who applies them the greatest minds in the world did not let doubt or the fear of failure get in the way of them succeeding in life and we should not let it either the direction of our life and where we're going is guided and directed by our thought life and answer how often do you think about the direction your life is going powerful do you see your thoughts to be right now do you see yourself as a positive person you bonus chapter from failing upwards the fear of what if sometimes when we want something so badly we fear failure more than we fear being without that thing Matthew J Kirby everybody has participated in the what-if game at some point in their lives whether it was when they were attending school or debating on calling in sick on their job at some point everybody plays the game it's not a very fun game to play and is often full of ridiculous ideas regarding different scenarios that never come to fruition in reality while playing the game in real life can be dangerous it can also be beneficial when played correctly failure is a somewhat frightful card to have in play when playing the game of what-if and can rapidly make a mountain out of an anthill if you're not careful what if I don't generate any income from starting that new business and what if I can't afford my mortgage and what if I can't provide food for my family and what if you get the point the worst possible scenario is what our minds tend to gravitate towards in this our minds indicate to us that our risk is much higher than any possible reward we focus on all the possible scenarios involving negative outcomes and give all our energy over to doing so when our minds are focused on negative outcomes and failure it's hard to even begin down the road of success our mind stopped us dead in our tracks by invoking what-if scenarios what if I fail is the core problem people have with taking any sizeable step in a direction that is different and worthwhile a common phrase most people are familiar with is nothing ventured nothing gained this is a fact of life if you never step out of your comfort zone and explore the unknown nothing will change for the better in life this rings true when pursuing worthwhile goals and aspirations dreams such as buying a new home starting a business or marrying that special someone no matter the circumstance big changes and game changers can be intimidating and induce fear at first contemplation the fear of failure is common and should be understood failing is not the true fear but the results of said failure such as being judged for example if the house you buy has problems after the purchase you'll feel incompetent you may fear the business going under and requiring you to file bankruptcy the marriage lasts in a year and resulting in a divorce it's the fear of defeat and damage to our characters that hold us back failing is this fear that holds people back from pulling the trigger the problem with this logic is the fact that failing is not a brick wall it's a pivoting point when we understand it's a time to pivot and not a time of defeat we open up the world of possibilities a great example of this time to pivot and not a time of defeat can be seen in the company oh do chances are you're not familiar with the company but you will be familiar with who they are after the pivot oto had a product that would change your spoken message into an mp3 file that would be hosted on the internet which we know as podcasting the only problem is they had this product as of July 2005 by that fall Apple announced iTunes would include a podcasting platform built into every one of the two hundred million ipods Apple was going to ship the CEO of o do Evan Williams decided that Oh Dios future was not in podcasting once he made that decision he dispatched his employees telling them to start coming up with a new direction they could go in the employees started brainstorming and working on different avenues that OTO could go down they would do hackathons competitions between employees in order to come up with new and interesting ideas that could help propel the company forward on a new project this initiative to have employees come to the company and participate in its future eventually birthday that form we all know as Twitter Twitter was originally named Twitter twtr by the individual who first came up with the platform Jack Dorsey azan had the keen sense that podcasting was not going to be the future for them he was able to see failure as a pivot and not an end result defeat he did not throw the towel into the ring and tell everyone to pack up shop instead he took the momentum and shifted it in a different direction Evan had the same fears and doubts that we all get sometimes fears that Evan could have had would be the fear that the company was going to go under and go out of business they just spent all this time energy and money developing a podcasting platform that was dead before it even began how ridiculously uncomfortable would it be to put a huge amount of effort into a project only to have all your time be in vain our time is valuable and when we invested into something that flops we tend to take it hard it's those moments that define us and carve us into the people we are in the shoes of Evan we can imagine how he felt about podcasting not working out this product that they believed was going to be great for people was stopped in its tracks by Apple's announcement about iTunes having a podcasting platform included it would have been logical and entirely acceptable to toss in a towel at that point and admit the feet but that pivot is where the real journey begins that decision that Evan made shaped his entire life and the entire world while Evan was not who envisioned it came up with Twitter he led the employee who came up with the idea for it if Evan had taken the failure as defeat and not a pivot he would have closed up shop doing so would have resulted in the company going under Jack might have still gone on to do Twitter but Evan would be out of the picture his name would be but a smear across the history of mankind with no recognition so how do you shift from a failure in your life and keep moving forward the answer to that is you you have to make a decision and will make decisions that will shape your course do you want to be a success or do you not if you desire to be successful you are the only one that has the power to make it happen success won't just happen to you you have to go seeking it failures along the way are turning points a great analogy to this would be a hurdle jumper if a runner is running down the track and there's a hurdle what did they do they change direction and go upwards if they stopped and just looked at the hurdle and gave up we'd think there was something wrong with the individual the same is true in our lives in our decisions while we don't want to be jumping hurdles and changing directions it's required to win the race just as the hurdle jumper we don't want to change direction randomly it has to be upwards in order to keep us moving forward Evon along with anyone who is successful in life has goals to be successful you must have goals and know where you are going if you have fears mingled with goals and focus on the fears your fears might as well have already happened as your mind and body will react thus similar to when you wake up from a nightmare and feel it was real you're sweating heart racing and fearful don't let your mind dwell on these fears instead focus on the scenario in which you succeed imagine what you'll be doing with your time what your lifestyle will be like think and imagine how your life would look on a day to day basis what you focus on and see in the future helps your mind guide your life to that destination if you spend your time worried and concerned about failure you'll be more likely to fail it's like the flying bugs that are headed to the zapper in the movie ants they look at the light and go to the light and then get zapped we are drawn to what we focus on so focus on where you want to be not where you don't want to go don't worry about failing but instead worry about not doing anything to begin with the real fear lies within what you'll miss out on in your life if you don't take the necessary action now if you wait for the perfect time to move forward on a project goal decision or anything else the perfect time will never happen waiting for the perfect time is procrastination and a trap that allows you to escape making a decision in napoleon hill's book Think and Grow Rich he illustrates a story about being three feet from gold the story was of a man who traveled west during the gold rush to stake his claim the man along with another guy bought equipment and spent all this time and energy getting the supplies needed to mine for gold they get down there and find a gold vein and they're pumped they start carting it off at this point they're convinced they have one of the best minds in Colorado so the vein runs out and they can't find any more they're searching and searching with no luck they keep moving their equipment and drill all over every which way they ended up deciding to give up and walk away they went to a junk shop and sold the equipment they had purchased previously what the man didn't know was he was only three feet from gold if he would have stayed a little bit longer he would have got the fortune he was after instead the man they sold their equipment to went to where they were and made a hefty fortune by finding the gold he found the gold by hiring an engineer to do some calculating and locate the ore when we fail to keep pushing forward with our life and our goals and we give up on them oftentimes we are only three feet from gold Evan Williams at the time of his pivot for odio was three feet from gold if he had given up at that point he would have missed out in a monumental way without ever knowing it this fact is the same in our own lives the best way to keep ourselves going forward is to keep our fears centered on the fact that we could be three feet from gold at any given moment in time as you can see now failure is a fear of being defeated we only can be defeated when we stop progressing forward in the direction we are attempting to go what if is an imaginary place that our minds take us to which often results in us putting the brakes on before even getting off the line altering the what-if to a what if I don't will help propel you forward with your goals and aspirations the only true failure is one that results in defeat when you don't admit defeat and raise that white flag you are not a failure you're someone changing course for the better instead of being known as a failure you'll be known as someone who is wise and was able to see through the murky water be the person who sees into the future and sees what you want it to be let the fears fall to the wayside and press forward and answer what what-if fears have been holding you back from moving you forward what is one thing you could do today that would change everything what if you do not pursue your deepest dream and desires who and what would suffer how is your view of failure changed from before reading this chapter and after if you are interested in this book feel free to check it out at WWF in Djimon Chapin calm resources I want to remind you that I created a reference guide in PDF format that accompanies this directional thinking audio book the reference guide which is accessible from your audiobook library contains cutout cards so you can have a positive thinking reminder list wherever you are it also tells how you can receive my free directional thinking worksheets about the author Benjamin Alan Chapin is a first-time author Benjamin has in-depth knowledge experience and expertise and problem solving and thinking clearly through years of research and personal experience benjamin has a message to share with the world Benjamin lives in Idaho Falls Idaho with his wife and stepdaughter he is a born-again Christian who seeks to bring positive light in a sometimes dismal world for more information or to contact Benjamin please visit his website at [Music] www.hsn other books Faline upwards discover the importance of failure on your way to success thinking by design 30 days to positive Christian thinking of habit how to create good habits and break bad habits one last thing thanks for reading if you enjoyed this book or found it useful I would be very grateful if you'd post a short review on Amazon your opinion and support matters I personally read each and every review so please be sure to leave your feedback so I can make this and future books even better thank you this has been directional thinking ten steps to positive thinking written by Benjamin Chapin narrated by Jay Pritchard copyright 2014 by Benjamin Alan Chapin production copyright 2014 by Benjamin Alan Chapin audible hopes you have enjoyed this program

Channel: A New Start To A Broken Life

Views: 110,234

Rating: 4.8189688 out of 5

Keywords: Positive Thinking, Directional Thinking 10 Steps to Positive Thinking, recovery, self help, mental health

Id: T67bRoWUV5Y

Length: 117min 33sec (7053 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 23 2017