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Up Close And Personal
Altitudes & Attitudes
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Epictetus stated, "Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the view they take of them."
We are told that a person's attitude going into surgery is extremely important. Coaches spend hours hammering positive thoughts into their players. Motivational speakers speak to change people's minds. A good parent or teacher will spend hours instilling into children the endless possibilities in their lives.
The thing that seems to be the tell-tell sign in many who succeed and those who fail is attitude. All life points to the fact that attitude really is a big deal. The truth, according to Dr. David Stoop is that, No matter who you are, attitude really is everything. It's what makes the difference in every aspect of life."
Researchers suggests that the additional factor is our thought life. Our thought life is called self talk. Some people say they don't talk to themselves, yet we all do. Most of the time what we say to ourselves is not good. If we rely on "us" to optimize our outlook, focus our plans and keep us on top, chances are most people will loose with their present thought systems.
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Our self talk may be in spoken words or unspoken thoughts. It can take the form of feelings, impressions or responses we get from our self or others. The more you think about things in a certain way, the more you will believe that that is how it really is.
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There are many studies on the subject of just how important our thought life really is. Very strong information is being presented by experts in the field. All roads lead to the fact that our thought life determines our attitude and the altitudes we reach in life. This is not a new thing. As a child I remember the story about the little train that couldn't make it up the mountain until he started to talk to himself saying, "I think I can, I think I can, I know I can, I know I can." That seemed like a good little child story at the time. As an adult, I see there's more to that story than meets the eye. Our thoughts play a big part in determining who we are and who we become.
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Self talk for most people is negative thoughts and feelings we have about ourself, feelings stored deep within our subconscious mind. We have been programmed from our first day on this planet with negative input. We have been told, "The stove is hot, it will burn. Don't get too close to the edge or you will fall off. If you go out without a coat, you will get a cold." To this is added years and years of negative statements that we say of ourselves such as, "I am depressed. I am ugly. I am not a good cook. I have a bad memory." Our minds believe what we tell it. That is where the problem lies. Thus, our self talk is critical.
Dr. Shad Helmstetter has compiled his findings on this subject in a wonderful book, What To Say When You Talk To Yourself. If you are having problems along this line, and we all do at some time or other, this is a must have book. There are many other good authors who have written on self talk. They all agree. Our mind is the most powerful computer in the world. It can lift us to new heights or it can drag us to low depths. With each thought we choose the direction of our life, our destination.
STAY TUNED
"We have the tool of thought within us to create
a thousand joys or a thousand ills."
James Allen
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