King Solomon once wrote “Your life is shaped by your thoughts.” The level of your personal happiness, success and quality of relationships can often be tied back to your thoughts. Your thoughts are the seed in which your action will follow. The reason for this is because “you cannot consistently perform in a manner that is inconsistent with your thoughts.” In other words if you want an A+ life you cannot have C- thoughts. Your life will follow your thoughts.
It has been estimated that 1,500 bits of information are moving in and out of our minds per minute. Imagine that, 1,500 thoughts floating through your mind and you have to choose which ones you will stop and dwell on. Your thoughts are your choice. If you choose to focus on the negative, that is your choice. If you choose to focus on the positive, that is also your choice.
Think of it like a transmission in your car. If you want to go forward you put it in drive. If you want to go backwards you put it in reverse. It is just as easy for you to go forward as it is for you to go backwards… it’s just a choice. The same is with your thoughts. You are the one that gets to choose whether or not your thoughts take you forward or take you backwards. But whichever one you choose you must understand that it will set the tone for your life. Your thoughts are like a compass continually pointing you to where you will end up.
Here are some things you can do to help you develop the right kind of thoughts that will take you to higher ground:
1) Take out the trash
My dog loves to go through the trash. If we are not careful to put away the trash properly he will dig through it and create a mess. There is some trash in our minds. Things people have said, experiences that have been hurtful and events that have made us feel like a failure. If you keep digging through those thought (trash thoughts) then you will not like where you end up. Stop thinking about the things of the past and stop the negative thoughts. You are only hurting yourself!
2) Practice thinking more positively
Try to make it a daily habit to think more positively. This won’t happen overnight but if you begin to work on it each and everyday you will find that your positive thought percentage will go up. Success is about developing the right habits. The right habit for your is to practice thinking right thoughts. Try it everyday and see what happens.
3) Visualize yourself achieving even greater things
There is so much negative thoughts that run through our minds about ourselves. “I can’t do it, I’m not that talented, great things are for everyone else or I could never do that.” Stop that kind of thinking. You are shaping your life with these negative thoughts. You have been created by the creator for great works and you are more then capable. Quit talking yourself out of it and start talking yourself into it. Remember that your life is being shaped by your thoughts. If you think C- thoughts you are more likely to have a C- life. However, if you think A+ thoughts you are more likely to have an A+ life.
QUOTE FOR YOUR DAY
You are today where your thoughts have brought you,
you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.
James Allen
Chris Sonksen is the founding Pastor of South Hills Church, a best-selling author, and founder of Church Boom.
