That’s right, you are what you think and how you think will directly influence you and your life.
I believe you have at least heard one or more of these quotes below…
“As a man thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains.”
James Allen
“A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.”
Marcus Aurelius
“A man is what he thinks about all day long.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Life consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever flowing through one’s head.”
Mark Twain
And one of my favorites was from the Buddha:
“What you think, you create. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you become.”
Buddha
So, what does this mean?
You are your thoughts and how you think will impact everything you do in your life, hence, your thoughts will determine how successful you are and what your life is going to be like.
Hence, if you don’t like your life situation right now, what you need to do is first change your thoughts.
Change your thinking pattern and you will change your life. Let me share a famous story of how your thoughts can influence and impact you and your life…
The Elephant and The Chain
I know you have heard about the story of the elephant and the chain. It is a classic example of how one’s thinking pattern can make or break them.
Elephants are the largest mammals on land. They have colossal bodies and strength that could knock down trees that come into their sight.
But how do people train elephants in the circus? How do human trains elephants to obey?
The answer is simple – by using a small and puny chain.
People will chain the elephants on their legs when they were babies. The baby elephant doesn’t have the strength to break the chain that was leashed on her leg.
And after a couple of days, weeks, and months down the road, the baby elephant will buy into the belief that she cannot escape from the chain. As long as the chain is leashed unto her leg, she can do nothing but be confined by the area within the length of the chain.
Even after the baby elephant has grown into the biggest creature on land, she won’t resist as long as the chain is there. The elephant has bought into the belief she can’t do anything and there’s no escape.
You are living your life just like an elephant.
You are confined by your beliefs and thoughts. If you think you are someone who can’t amount to much and you can’t do much to change your life, then you will act and behave in such a way that is in harmony with your thoughts.
If you believe and think that you are destined for big success, then you will act and behave in a way that is in alignment with your thoughts too.
How Your Thoughts Influence You and Your Life
If you want to truly understand the meaning of you are what you think you are, then you need to understand the link between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
You see, your thoughts have no power. They are neutral.
It is only when you put in the attention and associate emotions to your thoughts that you make them real. And when you think of a specific thought, you begin to feel the emotions that were associated with the thoughts. As a result, you will enter an emotional state that will influence how you act and behave.
Imagine if you constantly think that you are a failure and you put a lot of attention to it, you will start to feel down, discouraged, worthless, and inferior.
And your body will also react to how you feel accordingly – you will sulk down, slump your shoulders, and your facial will project no confidence.
This will then influence how you behave, make decisions, and act.
Read: How to Get Rid of Negative Thinking
When you are engaged with an inferior thought and you are feeling it deeply, and if someone asks you if you want to invest or invite you for a business opportunity, most likely, you are going to reject him. Because your thoughts have negatively impacted your feelings and you end up behaving that way.
This is how your thoughts can influence you and your life.
And this is why people say you are what you think, and what you think, you will become.
Read: The #1 Benefit Of Positive Thinking According To Research
How to Change Your Thinking for Greater Success
Since your thinking will greatly impact you and your life, how do you change your thinking so that you will live a better, and more successful life? How do you rewire your brain to think more positively?
Here are a couple of suggestions…
1. Practice Mindfulness
One of the most powerful ways to switch the way you think is to be aware of what you are thinking about at the moment. For instance, when you are thinking negatively and you want to change your thinking pattern, you must first KNOW that you are thinking negatively.
If you are not aware or are unconscious of your thinking pattern, you will become like the elephant, buying into the belief that you can’t make a change, and will be forever chained.
Practice mindfulness is a skill to keep yourself aware of the present.
For example, when you are drinking coffee, feel your lips touching the side of the cup. Smell the coffee and taste it. That’s being in the moment.
Our minds are constantly projecting thoughts to us, this is why some people are drinking coffee, but their minds are elsewhere.
So, practice mindfulness to make sure you are living in the present moment.
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2. Journal and Write it Out
Do you know that putting your thoughts and writing your feelings down on paper is a great way to learn more about yourself and how you think?
Most of the time, people are unaware of how they think. Even when they are thinking negatively, they will never know about it. This is why when you write down your thoughts and feelings, you can step back and look at them from a bigger picture. It allows you to become more objective and know how you think and feel.
When you write down your thoughts and feelings, you can easily identify the pattern that requires your attention, and hence, you can then change it.
Here’s a great book you should read: Write It Down, Make It Happen.
3. Recite Positive Affirmations
Affirmations are a great way to realign and rewire your thoughts. The more you pay attention to how you think, the more likely you will think and act that way.
And this is why affirmation is powerful.
Affirmations are like self-talk. Many studies have discovered that positive self-talk and affirmations have a positive impact on professional athletes, including Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, high jumper Laura Rautanen, and many more.
Reciting the affirmation, “I’m going to win the game” may not guarantee that you are going to win the game, but doing so does help you improve the odds a little because it makes you feel good and confident.
When you are feeling good, you will act and behave differently, which gives you an edge. This is how affirmations and self-talk can impact the way you think and thus, how you behave and act.
Read: 5 Simple Rules How To Make Your Affirmations Work
4. Use Hal Elrod’s 5-Minute Rule
In one of my previous articles, How to Stop Overthinking, I shared this strategy from Hal Elrod called the 5-Minute Rule.
Hal Elrod is the best-selling author of several books, including The Miracle Morning.
This was what he said:
“I live my life by the five-minute rule. When things go wrong it’s OK to be negative – but not for more than five minutes.”
Hal elrod
When Hal was young, he was hit by a drunk driver and was clinically pronounced dead for 6 minutes. He broke most of his bones and the doctor told him he could never walk again. However, Hal went on to prove the doctor wrong by living an amazing life. And he credited his great recovery to the 5-Minute Rule.
Like everybody, after the accident, Hal was depressed and grieved over his situation. But he did something differently – he allowed himself to feel negative, but only for 5 minutes.
This was what he did: he would get upset, angry at the drunk driver for damaging his health and life and felt totally negative. But for just 5 minutes.
And after the 5 minutes were up, he would spend his mental energies focusing on getting and living a better life.
So, here’s the rule: You can overthink, feel upset, negative, complain, moan, yell, or whatever, but for NO LONGER than 5 minutes.
Once the 5 minutes are over, accept your situation, and focus on the present. Stop overthinking and get back to work after the 5 minutes are up.
5. Change Your Environment
Do you know that your environment and surrounding play an important role in shaping the way you think and ultimately, affecting your life?
Just like when you are feeling overwhelmed in the office, taking a walk in nature will calm your mind and help you refocus. When you find it hard to focus in the office, taking your laptop and working in a cafe will change your mood and state.
Here are a few ideas on how you can change your environment to change your thoughts:
- Take a walk in the park.
- Work from a local coffee house.
- If you work from home, take 5 minutes off on the balcony.
- Take a shower.
- Go for a run.
- Meet up with a friend.
Just choose an activity or a location that you find enjoyable, fun, and will leave you feeling better.
Read: 9 Tips How to Change Your Environment for Greater Motivation
Conclusion
By now, you should understand the real meaning of you are what you think and how you can change your thinking to change your life.
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