"Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts." - The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Have you ever felt like you're in a rut? May be you feel this way in your work, your relationships, or even in your overall life. If so, why is this case? You may ask. And even more importantly, how do you get out of it?
To get the source of this question, and get closer to the answers we seek, we must become self-aware and analyze our thought patterns. Thoughts are powerful. Ideas are powerful. They manifest into repeated behaviors, repeated actions and, ultimately, tangible results.
There was a woman who had a very negative self-view of herself. She constantly compared herself to others, never felt like she measured up or was good enough. She constantly thought negative thoughts about herself. One day, she was talking to an acquaintance catching up and doing small talk. After they were finished talking, her other friend that was listening to their conversation mentioned to her friend that the acquaintance had said to her twice that she "looked good". The woman was astonished at this statement as her ears did not physically hear the acquaintance friend tell her this.
The purpose of this story is to show how the patterned thought behavior of the woman (her negative self-view and feelings of worthlessness) caused her to physically not hear a compliment that was given to her (manifestation).
What areas in your life could you be missing out on because of learned negative thought behaviors? Only you know your own thoughts. Do certain areas in your life need to change? Then your thoughts must change. Only then can you be on your way to having the life you want to live.
In order to get out of ruts, we must develop new thought patterns about our circumstances. This will take work, dedication, and perseverance. At first glance, with so much going on in our lives already, we may feel burdened with that thought. "More work? How could I possibly do more work than what I am doing now?" This is the wrong focus.
Living in negative thought patterns is hard. Over time, it leads to burn out, depression, and feelings of hopelessness. Breaking out of negative thought patterns into new positive ones is also hard. But the results are far better: vitality, confidence, hope, fulfillment.
"The struggle is great, the task divine - to gain mastery, freedom, happiness, and tranquility." - Epictetus
What can you start doing today to begin breaking the cycle of negative thought patterns in order to live the kind of life worth living?
Anna Hargett
Realtime CART Captioner
Owner and Creator of Mindful Audio Focus
Woman Entrepreneur
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