Saturday, March 27, 2010

For Life To Get Better, We Must Get Better!!

In the days when ships were powered by wind and sail, seamen feared entering an area of the ocean near the equator known as the doldrums. Once in the doldrums they could encounter calm waters and light wind or simply no wind at all. Sometimes a sailing ship would lie becalmed and helpless in the doldrums for weeks waiting for the wind to blow. Then either light unpredictable winds or sudden fierce squalls would blow and they could continue their journey.

People also get caught in the doldrums. Waiting for winds that they think will create the conditions where they can move forward in life. In the meantime just like the sailors of old, they become dispirited and uninspired. However unlike a sailing ship we need not wait for prevailing winds. Change and growth can come at any time that we decide to change our thinking, our beliefs and take action to remove ourselves from the doldrums.

Often one of the reasons people don't take the time to improve their quality of life, is that they think things will somehow just get better. They live their life in hope that their job or business will somehow improve. They hope that some lucky combination of circumstances will come about and as a result, they will finally be recognized and rewarded. Unfortunately this isn't how life works. How life works is; for things to get better, we must first get better. For things to improve, we must first improve. If we want to become more successful and happier in life, we must adopt a more effective approach.

The starting point of all change is in the mind, or more precisely, in how we think! Am I saying all we must do is improve the quality of our thoughts and we will improve the quality of our life? Yes! In fact, everything pivots around this fundamental truth. Success comes from results. Results come from actions. Actions come from thoughts. So, when we think more effectively, we take better actions, and produce better results. As you are the one who is responsible for your thoughts, you must decide how successful your life will be. It is always your responsibility, because only you have control of your mind.

Beliefs are magical things, they are at first thoughts and yet they are more than thoughts. Our beliefs comprise; how we come to know and understand things, give meaning to things, and create energy, emotions, and actions. Meaning doesn't exist out there in the world. Meaning exists only within the mind as we connect and link ideas with experiences. At birth, we have no beliefs. They develop as our perceptions, understandings and learning's grow and become a form of focused awareness. Beliefs develop over time from our experiences. We construct them via the ideas, thoughts, feelings, and meanings that we develop about various concepts. Beliefs are very powerful, helping us to have a sense of certainty and direction in an unpredictable world.

So if we wish to get better we must start by developing better beliefs. And you can chose to change any one you want to by first identifying a limiting belief, and then creating a new counter-belief that better supports you. Then become willing to let go of the old belief, and adopt the new. Simply accept any resistance, and then repeat the process until you can state the new belief congruently. Manifesting your dreams and desires into reality does not depend on your education, your ethnicity, your cultural heritage, or your current environment. It is solely the result of how you think and what you believe. One of the most important beliefs we can adopt is that in order to succeed and be happy we should be constantly improving the quality of our lives, by constantly growing and expanding our thinking.

The last word is from Anthony Robbins: "Success or failure begins with belief. Whether you believe you can do something, or believe you can't, you're right. Even if you have the skills and resources to do something, once you tell yourself you can't, you shut down the neurological pathways that can make it happen. If you tell yourself you can do something, you open up the pathways that can provide you with the resources for achievement."
To Your Success,
 
Lloyd Dobson

10 comments:

Ragrs said...

Very good post Lloyd. Thanks for reminding me that I can improve my results NOW by adjusting my thinking to get rid of limiting beliefs.
- Stew Shaw

Bill Cowan said...

Yep, this is one I think about a lot. Others tend to just stay in the rut thinking that someone else will get them out of it or that life will magically change their circumstance. Well that's not the norm and I for one will take action and control of my own life. Thanks for posting this.

DaveandDawnCook said...

Lloyd,
Your words match all we've learned lately and we love to read/hear it again to reinforce it in our minds. You explained it all so well and you've inspired us again!
Thank you so much for your very valuable content.

Edward said...

Hey Lloyd,

So many times we life in waiting for some outside influence to come in and take our life out of the state that it is in and off to a far away land! Thanks for the reminder and insights into how it is up to us to navigate through this whether there is wind or not.

Make it a great day!
God Bless,
-ed

The Gourmet Goddess said...

Hi Lloyd,

What comes to mind here is something I chant to myself a lot, If it is to be it's up to me!

I appreciated the reinforcement to what I know to be true. However, you can't hear it too much.

You have a great article here. Thanks for your thoughts.

Debbie Stevens

Ragrs said...

Lloyd you've pretty much given us a "Success 101" in this post. I agree it's all about the quality of our thinking.

And I love this statement you made: "How life works is: For things to get better, we must first get better. For things to improve, we must first improve."
- Stew Shaw

Gavin Mountford said...

I love listening to Tony Robbins, it's all about belief and I work on my belief all day every day! Just a quick question, I noticed your post was all hyperlinked so I could click on the post. Is that supposed to happen?

Let me know if you need any help to fix it,

Thanks
Gavin Mountford

lindagrace said...

Lloyd,
You are so right! We are the creaters of our universe! As we get in touch with oursleves, and continually tell ourselves what we know deep down we are, we'll have all we want! I love it!

lindagrace said...

Lloyd,
You are so right! We are the creaters of our universe! As we get in touch with oursleves, and continually tell ourselves what we know deep down we are, we'll have all we want! I love it!

Bill Cowan said...

I had to come back and post here again. I see so many people walking around in a daze. No drive, no action, no thoughts to carry them forward, just reacting to everything they come across.