“You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” – Above Life’s Turmoil

This principle was not easy for me to accept and I fought it for a long time. As miserable as my life was at the time I learned this concept, I was certain that there was no way that it was due to the thoughts that I had held. There were too many other reasons why things had gone bad – my ex-spouse, the economy, a client who had wronged me, and on and on and on. Since I wasn’t responsible for my “bad luck” then certainly my thoughts had nothing to do with it.

But I was wrong. Like the biblical Job who said, “the thing I feared most has come upon me,” I, too, had thought myself to where I was.

Dr. Walter Doyle Staples, writing in “Think Like a Winner!” says, “I credit one simple concept with getting me started on my journey into self-discovery. After a great deal of study and contemplation, I came to the conclusion that people have in their lives today exactly what they keep telling their mind they want.”

Like Dr. Staples, it was a moment of great illumination for me! The logical side of me said, “if you and you alone can think yourself into such a mess, then surely you and you alone can think yourself out of it.” And that I did. It wasn’t overnight and it wasn’t easy, but it was a sure thing! And by accepting all of the responsibility for where I was at, and all of the responsibility for where I was going, I experienced a tremendous joy and freedom because I knew in my knower that if I got myself into the predicament, I could get myself out.

Of course, I had some great inspiration along the way. And I will always remember Les Brown’s three steps to take during “hard times:”

1. Have Faith (didn’t Paul say, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for…”)

2. Remind yourself: “No matter how hard it is or how hard it gets, I’m going to make it!”

3. Have patience and engage in consistent action.

And that’s worth thinking about.