If You Want to Change Your Life, Change Your Thoughts

The purpose of this article is to motivate you to take action on creating the life you want and to provide some basic direction on how to do that. If you're dissatisfied with some part of your life, know that you have the power to change it and it all starts with your thoughts!

Before I lose you, this article is not about “The Secret” and it's not about “The Law of Attraction.” Instead it is about the undeniable fact that how you think and what you think about determines the shape and quality of your life.

Eliminate Tragedy?
Can your thinking prevent tragedy and challenges from touching your life? No. We all experience our share of hardship and misfortune. Life is not always easy, but it is wondrous and beautiful all the same.

Lemonade
So if you can't eliminate bad things in your life, what can thoughts do to help in difficult situations? By controlling your thoughts you can determine how those incidents affect your life. It's the old “Lemons into Lemonade” maxim. Choose to find the good, find the lessons, and you will shape a more positive life for yourself.

Success
And, of course, how and what you think creates your life, from how your feel to what manifests physically in your life. Your career, your health, your relationships and more are shaped by your thoughts. I'm not saying that there aren't outside influences that also have impact, but why not take control where you can, in your thoughts?

Guide to Changing Your Thoughts to Shape the Life You Want

1. Make an appointment with yourself. Take a morning or afternoon off to think about your life. If this sounds scary to you, this is one of the first places to change your thoughts. This is fun. What you can dream, you can craft a plan to achieve. Find a quiet place with no distractions such as the library, sitting in your bed, or sitting in your car.

2. Daydream. During your appointment with yourself, think about areas in your life in which you want to make a change. Areas to consider:

• Business/Career
• Relationships
• Finances
• House & Home
• Physical Health
• Spiritual
• Leisure

3. Write Your Dreams Down. Write out what you want to change. Maybe there is only one area you want to change. Don't feel like you have to change everything. But if there is something that could improve the quality of your life, write it down. Don't worry about whether it is possible. Assume that anything is possible.

4. The Action Plan. For your top changes, write out some rough plans about how you could achieve those dreams. Break down the long term goal into monthly, weekly and/or daily things you'll need to do to get there.

5. Mentors. Who else has done what you want to do? Who inspires you? What can you learn from that person or those people? How do they think? How do they handle challenges? Write it all down. Let that person serve as a guide to how you work towards your dreams. Seek out these guides even if it is simply by reading someone's book or blog. Ask for help and guidance. You'll likely be surprised to find that when you ask most people will try to find a way to help you. Lastly, remind yourself every day that if your mentor can succeed, so can you!

6. The Reminder Poster. Use your creativity here. The idea is to create a poster of which you can make several copies to hang in key places such as your bathroom, bedside table, kitchen, car and desk. On the poster (any size you want) list your Dreams, your daily action plan, and the thoughts you want to cultivate each day. You can include quotes or other inspiration from your mentors too.Of course feel free to add pictures, color, texture, whatever makes it powerful for you.

7. Gratitude. Take a bit of time each morning to really appreciate what you currently have in your life that is good. In the evening take a bit of time to review your accomplishments and learnings from the day, either in quiet meditation, in a journal, or with someone who supports you. It can be a nice ritual to create with either a spouse, your children, or other person who is important in your life.

8. Believe. Believe in the power of your thoughts. Here are some examples of how powerful a thought can be. All of these great achievements by humans started with an idea or thought in someone's mind.

• Putting a man on the moon.
• Democracy.
• The incredible expansion of Dubai in just 7 years.
• Sailing around the world, four stories: One, Two, Three, and Four.
• Writing a book.
• Creating a movement to save the environment.
• Inventing the heart transplant operation.
• The pyramids of Ancient Egypt.

Where there's a will there is a way. To build your will, build your mind through strong empowering thoughts daily. The people who had the thoughts that sparked these achievements listed above, did not let doubt get in their way. And neither should you!

9. Take Action. Your thoughts and plans need to be combined with action to create a result. The focus on your goals and dreams will provide the energy and motivation for taking action. If motivation is lacking, don't wait for it to appear. Take action first and then watch your energy and motivation blossom! Take action on your goals everyday. Make them a priority by working on your daily goals before doing the mundane things of life.

What is the one thing you are craving to change? What success have you had with this method? Need guidance or encouragement from others? Share your questions on this topic. I look forward to everyone's comments!

Written for Dumb Little Man by K. Stone, author of Life Learning Today, a blog about daily life improvements. Popular articles are Ultimate Goal Setting Guide, and Should You Start Your Own Work at Home Business?