Stinkin’ thinkin’!
By the time I was an independent young adult, I was a full-time passenger on the struggle bus of limited thinking.
I didn’t realize this until my older sister brought it to my attention.
One day she said to me, “Ugh. I can’t take you anymore.
Just being around you is difficult because all you do is whine, complain, criticize, and tear down.
You never have anything good to say. No matter where we go or what we do, you find a way to take note of the negative. I’m sick of you and your negativity.”
I considered what my sister told me and began to closely monitor my thoughts. It didn’t take me long to accept that my sister was right.
I was a cynic with a bad case of stinkin’ thinkin’.
I’m not exactly sure how I developed this habit. If I had to guess, I’d say it was from buying into limited beliefs associated with statements I’d heard growing up.
Complainers delivered their one-liners as gospel.
Here are some of the statements that imply limited beliefs and were part of my mindset:
- It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there.
- You’re just one person; you can’t change the world.
- You have to crawl before you walk.
- You have to start from the bottom then work your way up.
- Get in line.
- The only way to make money in this world is to work hard for it.
- It’s a waste of time to tell anyone about your problems. Because when that conversation ends and they walk away, you’re still stuck with the problems.
- Life is hard and you have to make it on your own. No one’s gonna help you.
- When the government sneezes, “we” catch cold.
- There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
- Marry someone who loves you more than you love them.
- If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
- You can’t fight city hall
If ever you find yourself needing to reset your thinking, change how you look at situations.
Instead of focusing on everything wrong, focus on what’s actually going right.
Self-help author and speaker Wayne Dyer once said, “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”
Strive to believe that no matter how bad something is, there’s a smooth and open road ahead – a road illuminated by hopeful glimmers of light.
“Update your thinking and you’ll outperform even your own expectations.” ~ LaurieTALKS