As a Man Thinketh – You Can Learn How To Start Building The Life You Want In 30 Seconds Or Less
by Adam Appleson
Could your life use a change? What if I told you no matter whether it was a minor tweak or major overhaul it would only take 30 seconds or less to begin? Now, let’s put these questions aside for a moment while I give you another one.
What did the Apollo program, the founding of Ford Motor Company, and Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics have in common?
Answer: They’re major events that all happened because somebody thought to make it so.
Flashes of Thought in Less Than Half a Minute Can Carry You To The Moon
Although I have no way of measuring it, I’d be willing to bet it took President John F. Kennedy less than half a minute to envision American astronauts landing on the moon, less than half a minute for Henry Ford to imagine how Ford Motor Company would net him a huge fortune, and less than half a minute for Michael Phelps to have the idea to win 8 gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Now of course, prior to those flashes of thought there was probably some preparation, but if you’ve ever had an “aha” moment you know those kinds of inspirational flashes can happen in less than half a minute. And guess what? You can start the process of changing your own life in half a minute or less by having the same kinds of inspirational flashes of thought that Henry Ford had. There, that wasn’t so hard was it?
You might be saying, “Whoa, now wait a minute.” I’ve tried this positive thinking stuff before, and it didn’t work out. Plus, you might be saying to yourself “but I can’t do it because I’m too short”, “I had an abusive childhood”, or “I don’t have enough money.” But that’s applying your thinking in the wrong direction. If you commit to doing whatever it takes, you’ll start to live your ideal life, even if it doesn’t feel like it at first.
Fortunately, you don’t have to take my word for it. Author James Allen – a man whose work people like Tony Robbins, Vic Johnson, and countless others credit with their success – says in his book As a Man Thinketh, “suffering is always the effect of wrong thought in some direction.” So start directing your thoughts in the right direction and do it consistently. But how do you get thoughts going in the right direction consistently enough to start making a definite change? It’s easy. Just remember…
Why Your Mind Is Like Glue – Whatever You Throw At It Will Stick With You
If you want to keep your mind primed for receiving life changing thoughts, you need to have a positive attitude, and you need to have it consistently. Think about glue for a moment. You remember it from your school days – it’s that sticky stuff that you could use in art class to stick two pieces of paper together (or put on your friend’s seat when he wasn’t looking).
Whether you used it constructively or destructively, you knew that for the most part, whatever you threw at glue would stick. With respect to your thoughts, the human mind is exactly the same as glue. If you throw positive thoughts at it, that’s what sticks. If you throw negative thoughts at it, that’s what sticks.
Since our thoughts determine our actions and our actions determine our results, it’s important to keep our thoughts positive. It’s obvious from this perspective your mind is a tool that can be used to either hurt you or help you.
But you obviously want to help yourself. The simple trick to having a consistent, positive attitude is this: read and listen to inspirational self help books. When I first started doing this as I committed to self improvement, I felt more motivated and noticed my thoughts becoming more positive.
I exercised regularly and became fitter, took up new and enjoyable hobbies, and little by little, the improvements started creeping into my life. As Zig Ziglar says, “You’ve got to be before you can do and you’ve to do before you can have.” Action made the change possible, but it was the positive thinking that gave life to the actions. Pretty soon, I started noticing positive and inspirational thoughts occurring to me all the time, in thirty seconds or less.
Using the principles of positive thinking and goal setting, I completed a marathon even though I had never been a runner. I had a flash of insight one day that I would complete a marathon no matter what. Nine months later, I crossed the finish line in much better cardiovascular shape than when I started.
As James Allen said in As a Man Thinketh, “Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become.”
Positive, life changing thoughts can occur in half a minute or less. If you keep your attitude soaring with the eagles, those good thoughts will keep coming along with the changes.
About the author:
Adam Appleson has actively applied personal development techniques over the past decade to climb psychological mountains and create a happy life. He started ZenTactics.com, the practical personal development website for survivors of abusive and dysfunctional families.
You can read more psychology and mental health articles at ZenTactics.com. Each article is written to help you understand the issues you face as an abuse survivor and how to experience personal growth and recovery.
