State of Mind Determines State of Life

The Mind is an Amazing Instrument!

Well, this week I'm turning to a related, and even more central, aspect of your life. James Allen wrote As a Man Thinketh over 100 years ago and it still stands recognized as one of the most important examinations ever undertaken of how one's thought processes affect his or her life.

Absolutely every move you make, every action you take, every reaction you have to anything that happens, begins with a thought, conscious or not. Even the involuntary processes of breathing, heart-beating, digestion, etc. are controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which is regulated by a part of the brain.

Why is This so Important to Consider?

I suppose one might argue that, "That's all fine and good - why do we need to examine this? After all, it's just a fact of what we are as humans, just as the idea that we have 10 fingers and 10 toes, right?" Well, it turns out there is much more to this than simply recognizing it as a fact.

We can control what we think, and the ways we think, which makes all the difference. One person thinks, when he is fired from his job, "Oh, woe is me, what will I do now? How will I pay my bills?" Another reacts totally differently to a similar situation, and thinks "Great! Now I have the opportunity to learn a new skill, apply for a better job, or start a business." What's the difference? The difference is the thought process each of these people engages in...and it's totally controllable! Everything we do can be adjusted by our mental attitude - how we think, what we think about, what we banish from our minds.

Yes, it takes some work, and the discipline to develop new habits of thought. A garden plot, if left unattended, will grow into a weedy tangle, producing nothing of value. Similarly, the mind, if allowed to proceed without direction, will entertain useless, even poisonous, thoughts. Cultivation, the process of removing useless and harmful elements and taking steps to promote the growth of beneficial elements, will cause the garden, and similarly the mind, to yield wonderful nourishing fruits.

So, I encourage you to read As a Man Thinketh, and think about how you think.