Take Charge of Your Life

In “Change Your Thinking Change Your Life”, Brian Tracy writes, “You can learn anything you need to learn, to accomplish any goal you can set for yourself.”  Another words, no one is smarter than you, and no one is better than you.  If someone is doing better than you, it is just because he learned how to succeed in that area before you have.  You can do it, too! 

We need to learn what you need and apply it as fast as you can.  Psychologists and scholars have spent many years researching the psychology of success and failure.  They have concluded two major mental blocks that hold people back.  The first is: Learned Helplessness.  This afflicts 80% of the population and is a major obstacle.  People become passive and accepting of their situations.  They have concluded there is very little they can do to change their future.  Usually they use the words “I Can’t”.  The second major mental block that holds people back is: Comfort Zone – a Trap of Complacency.  People get into a rut, and the longer they stay in their rut the deeper it grows until they finally give up all hope of changing or improving their lives.  These individuals strive for security rather than opportunity.  They feel trapped and helpless, unable to take control.

These mind sets are easy to fall in too.  We blame others, our jobs, everything and/or everyone around us but don’t look at what we are doing or how we are thinking that keeps us from succeeding.  It is difficult to “keep up the good fight”.  But that is what we have to do.  Our true potential is limited only by our own imagination and determination. 

Fear and ignorance are our biggest enemies.  They can mentally paralyze us.  But we can build our confidence and diminish our fears by learning, by obtaining knowledge.  We are responsible for ourselves.  The more we think about something we want, the more excited we will become about achieving it.  Dr. William James of Harvard in 1905 said, “…by changing our inner attitudes, we can change the outer aspects of our life.”  We need to take charge and control the content of our mind.

Let’s stop making excuses, stop blaming others, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and stop allowing ourselves dwell on negative thinking.  Instead let’s review our goals, our steps.  Complete a specific action that will help us get closer to accomplishing our goal.  What action did you take?

Dream Big Dreams

In "Change Your Thinking Change Your Life" Brian Tracy writes that our main goal in life must be to harness our amazing powers and direct them intelligently and systematically toward achieving what we want.  What we want could be a happier family, a healthy and fit body, money in the bank, no more debt, or a job we enjoy.

To realize our full potential, our greatness need is to break out of our limited thinking by dreaming big dreams and imaging unlimited possibilities.  We have to work on ourselves for days, weeks, months and even years to develop our talents and abilities and bring them out.  Tracy states, "All successful men and women are dreamers.  They look into the future and imagine what they want to achieve.  Then they look at the path that they have to take to get there."  I have a wealthy acquaintance who told me every year he sits with his wife and they set goals.  He said if you don't set goals you can't measure your successes.  If we don't know where we are going, any road will take us there.

Brian Tracy's gives a seven-step formula for achieving our goals.  The steps are:

1. Decide What You Want.  A real goal is clear, specific, measurable and time bound.  Tracy writes that people fail in life because they waste time doing low value or no value things.  We should ask ourselves, "Does this move me toward the achievement of any of my goals?"  By asking ourselves this, we can determine whether something is a good use of our time.

2. Write Down Your Goals.  By writing down our goals we intensify our belief and deepen our conviction that our goals are possible.

3. Be Willing to Pay the Price.  Are we willing to make the sacrifices necessary to reach our goal?  Will we pay the full price that the goal demands?  I have a niece who is really smart.  During her high school years, she applied herself to her studies.  She received exceptional grades.  When she started college she was already a Sophomore because of the classes she took in high school.  After just three years in college she will graduate with a very high grade point average and plans on continuing her education.  I am very proud of her!  She is an example others should follow.  During those tough teenage years she stayed focused, work hard, and reached her goal.  I know she will continue to do great things in her life.

4.  Make a Detailed Plan.  Once again, put the plan in writing.  Make a list of all the things necessary to reach our goals.  Prioritize them in order of importance.

5. Take Action.  Do something!  No matter how small it may seem...start.  Let's not just daydream about how wonderful it would be, but let's take specific, irrevocable action.

6. Do Something Every Day.  Do something that will move us toward our most important goal.

7.  Never Give Up.  Decide in advance to persist, no matter how difficult it may become.  Our persistence will eventually guarantee our success.

What would you dare to dream?   What goal do you want to achieve?  What's your plan?  Please share it.  You may inspire someone else.