Your life is the product of repeated thoughts. – Grenville Kleiser
Think good things – good things happen. Think bad things – bad things happen.
You’re right, I absolutely just set a new record for oversimplifying.
Of course, I held the old record, so what do you expect?
There’s a saying amongst actors, “You’re only as good as your last picture.” On a grander scale, we can say that we’re only as great as our last great thought. Of course, the flip side of that would be, We’re only as weak as our last weak thought. Think about yourself for a moment. What are the first thoughts in your mind? Did you think of your wit, your brains, your bad habits, your ridiculously frightful upper arms (sorry, Michelle Obama… the whole arm envy thing), your loyalty, your great smile?
If negative thoughts jump out at you, do something about them. Don’t wait another day – if there is something about you that you feel negatively about, don’t wait for magic to show up in the middle of the night, make your own magic. If you’ve been doing something and it isn’t working, either try something different or dive in with an all new force and determination.
Look out arms.
Did you know that there is incredible power inside even the smallest thought? That’s why I’ve always drummed this into my daughters’ heads: Think highly of yourself or no one else will. Focus your thoughts constructively and think of them as building blocks. When negative, silly, unproductive thoughts creep in, usher them out and get back on track.
We, very often, live up to or live down to our thoughts. If we tend to think of ourselves as….
- – a victim, we’ll be a victim.
- – jinxed, we’ll be jinxed.
- – a survivor, we’ll be a survivor.
- – an a$$, we’ll be an a$$.
- – a winner, we’ll be a winner!
What’s more, if we continue to think of ourselves this way, we’ll always be either a victim, a survivor, and/or a winner.
Just a side thought (after all, when I’m not being the high priestess of oversimplifying, I’m the princess of side roads): Why in the reason of all that’s sane and right would anyone want to be a victim? Why would they want to paint a picture depicting themselves as a put upon, victimized, taken advantage of, abused, and mistreated soul? If that’s them at their best, I don’t ever want to see their worst. Everyone has his or her battles and scars. Everyone has lived through a nightmare they wish they’d never had. Don’t be a victim.
Okay, back to the main road.
When you think about your dreams and goals, do you believe in your heart of hearts that they’ll come true? If not, you’d better find a way to start believing or your beliefs will be prophetic. Pinpoint your weaknesses and do everything in your power to strengthen them. Remember, never be ashamed to ask for help when you need it.
If you completely believe in your dreams and in your ability to make them happen, you’re well on your way. Keep your thoughts focused and keep them totally positive. Your dreams will be so close that if they ate onions, you’d smell it on their breath!
Tony says
April 22, 2009 at 9:39 amGreat post, reminds me of one of my favourite quotes,
“if you think you can or you think you can’t, you are probably right.”
Don’t remember who it’s by, if you find out, it’ll be great. 🙂
Also, do you have any techniques for getting rid of negative thoughts?? They usualy don’t just stop when you say stop
joi says
April 22, 2009 at 10:50 amTony, I’m actually working on an article right now – it should be up sometime today.
Thanks for the kind words! – Joi
aldrince santos says
May 11, 2009 at 4:30 amwow! the first sentence in your article does it all.. what an intro… first punch knock them out..
its true.. before your hands do it… your brain already know it.. peace!
joi says
May 11, 2009 at 12:01 pmIt’s all in the entrance, right? Make a little noise – make sure everyone’s awake?!
Keri says
May 12, 2009 at 4:19 pmHi Joi,
I just wrote a post about the secret, the law of attraction, etc. Would you please read it and comment. I love your knowledge. I read this post of yours afterwards and you are so smart! The person Toni that wrote that quote…the person is Henry Ford that said that. I watched the Secret the other day and that quote was on there. I love your blog! I haven’t read it recently. I realize I have missed it! Love you,
Keri
Keri’s last blog post..Random thoughts….the Secret, The biggest Loser
joi says
May 13, 2009 at 3:05 pmThank you SO MUCH – you’re a real sweetheart. It’ll be my pleasure to read it. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the very kind words. Love, Joi
Brett says
March 29, 2011 at 5:03 pmNo offence, but this article didn’t really help.
Nothing I read was new to me, in fact it sounds like you simply regurgitated what others have already said.
And The Secret….what a joke that is.
If you truly believe what that book is selling, you’re the last person who should be writing articles about positive thinking.
I have never read such a pile of nonsense in my life. I read daily, probably more than most people do in a month. And i had to struggle just to get through that book without burning it.
I have focused my efforts at creating a happier, better life, and the mind certianly posses that power, but it’s learning to control that power that we struggle with. Telling yourself something doesn’t make it so. You have to act!!!
joi says
March 30, 2011 at 3:58 pmBrett, Hopefully you find whatever article or book it is that you need to help you find a happier life. As for The Secret… I’m not sure why you even bring that up. I have never… and would never… promote or applaud that particular book. On the contrary, I have written MANY articles stating what a load of crock it is to think that merely THINKING something makes it so.
Having said that, optimism and positive thinking (and a steady diet of each) result in happier people. The sort of people who go around trying to make the world a better, happier place. This is in contrast to the people who spew negativity and pessimism. There’s a big difference between the two camps and it never takes people long to decide which one to gravitate toward. Or away from.
Tyler J.Logan says
May 11, 2011 at 7:13 pmThis is a great article! Your article reminds me of what a person continues to think, that person will become it, or that person will manifest it into their lives! Having negative thinking can damage our mindset, which our words are powerful rather they are powerful or negative! It’s a fight everyday to stop negative thoughts,but we can endure them before they overcome us! Thanks joi
Samson onyeka says
October 29, 2011 at 10:01 pmThanks for the post on positive thought, honestly you’ve just made my day.
Deborah Anderson says
February 25, 2012 at 11:35 amRight on! So true! I had heard many sales training videos and recordings talking about this from the perspective of improving your life and I valued the teaching. More recently, in my er, maturity, shall we say, I realized just how much the positive thinking permeates many aspects of our life, beyond the success-focused but also reframing some of the icky stuff as well! I am thankful to be a positive thinker, now to be positive in helping others to think positive 😉 Thanks for the post! hugs, Deborah