Because as a man thinks, so is he.
“Switch your mentality from— I’m broken and helpless, to I’m growing and healing, and watch how fast your life changes, for the better.” This quote by Jay Shetty sparked something on the inside of me. Sometimes we are victims of our circumstances; we may have done nothing wrong to find ourselves at rock bottom, where everything seems so bleak.
Rock bottom is a place where you feel like you have every right to have this woe is me mentality. But if you want your situation to change, you have to change your mindset; you have to start with proper thinking. Most of the battles we face are in our minds, but the moment you decide to flip that switch in your thought process, then you are on the road to victory.
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Welcome to another edition of wisdom weekly, we work hard on this segment to bring insight on relevant topics, that you can apply to your life, to become a better version of yourself. Today’s article has to do with our thinking. Who knew that those little nagging voices in our heads or minds could control the way we live?
The writer of the Book of Proverbs makes a valid point in his text when he wrote: "as a man thinks, so is he." This is so true because there are a lot of things that can be traced back to our minds. In fact, our thoughts are so powerful, that a person who commits murder gets a heavier sentence if it is premeditated. Because the person approached their victim with the intent to kill (I know I am an Investigation Discovery fanatic).
So if our thoughts are powerful, how can we use it for something good?
Our minds are very complex, but yet a beautiful gift from God, to be used to create things and bring our dreams to life. A lot of great inventions that we see today, all started with a thought, and then developed into an idea before it was brought to life. This came about by seeing a need in the society, and then thinking—what can I do to change this? And then what if I do this and that? Followed by countless research and hard work and in the end victory!
Rather than crying over spilled milk, if you are stuck in a rot, how about you use your gift of imagination, to create a way out or think about the lessons you can learn from your situation, and then share it with others so they don’t go down the path that you did. If you fill your mind with negative thoughts, it creates anxiety within you.
Sometimes we spend our time worrying about things that haven’t happened yet. Negative thinking/worrying can contribute to some physical ailments such as high blood pressure and hypertension. No wonder the bible says we should be anxious for nothing in the book of Philippians, and it also goes ahead to say—“Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Whenever I find myself freaking out about something that may not have occurred yet, I remember this above passage of scripture, and then begin to think about nice things (like me meeting my prince charming, ha-ha), I start to imagine the heights my life can get to, if I keep being committed to building my career; then I get encouraged to start working towards those goals, and quit worrying about things that honestly, I can’t even change.
If we start thinking positively, and seeing the glass as half full, rather than half empty, then we would be very well on our way to conquering our fears and reshaping our world. I found an interesting quote in John Maxwell's book—how successful people think; it says "You have to think, so why not think big?”
Truth is, we think thousands of thoughts every day and there is nothing wrong with that because that is how we were created. But we have to make sure that it is the right thoughts that occupy our minds and thought process. Because a very wise writer in the book of Proverbs said (going back to a point made earlier)—as a man thinks, so is he. So we are basically our thoughts. Next time you see someone acting out, or someone being kind, you know that these are outward expressions, of their inward battles or convictions.
Hope you enjoyed this short wisdom weekly post, and are committed to reshaping your world, by changing negative thought processes. Until next time, please comment, like, share & subscribe to never miss an update on Let’s Talk Nation.