The power of thoughts

Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true.  Napoleon Hill

Each and every one who is reading this post is bombarded with a million thoughts every single day. We dismiss most thoughts as irrational, impossible, incongruent and impractical to deal with. The stray thoughts that remain after our initial filtration can be broadly classified as positive thoughts or negative thoughts. We sometimes proactively work on some of those thoughts or let circumstances force us into acting on a few other thoughts. What we fail to appreciate is that we as human beings have the rare privilege of being blessed with thoughts that act as stimulus to achieve extraordinary success if we simply engage more of these thoughts with self belief, purpose and positivity.

To reign in our thoughts so as to leverage its potent possibilities to our advantage we need to focus on the following

Listen proactively: Since we are deluged with innumerable thoughts, we are never short of possibilities. However, we are often inattentive, prone to be dismissive of many ideas and nip them in the bud or we fall in love with a thought only to forget it shortly thereafter. The trick is to listen to ideas proactively; believe that each thought has a valuable insight, juggle various thoughts consciously, look at problems as opportunities to exercise the grey cells and always carry pen and paper in the fond hope of getting a great idea. Do try to jot of some of the new thoughts so that when you read them again, they will trigger multiple ideas.

Explore creatively: All progress is the result of a ‘creative exploration’ done by individuals with the zeal, passion and self belief that they can leverage their ideas. The trick is to juggle various possibilities and select one that suits ones personal likings has a good fit with one’s personal, business or social objectives and surmount the obstacles that loom in front when the idea dice is rolled. Fear of failure is often the most common reason why people give up on ideas without much thought. To be creative one has to occasionally connect the dots, at other times fill in the gaps and far too often come up with out of the box solutions. The best of creativity comes when a person is passionate and he/ she is desperate. The urge to succeed must overcome the fear of failure if one has to become successful and creative.

Plan purposefully: Many an idea never sees the light of day simply because one is lazy, indifferent, casual, fearful, lacks self belief etc. but most of the time it is because one does not plan with a purpose. A plan starts with a clear goal and road map chalked out. This is not the result of a sudden flash in the pan event but the outcome of study, research, analysis and determination. A good plan must incorporate time frames, have inbuilt flexibility, have a proper resource allocation strategy and must be capable of being revised smoothly should the need arise.

Act decisively: A plan on paper is simply a redundant document. The plan comes alive when one begins by committing to the plan and decisively acting on the course of action outlined. Being bold and being committed are the two pillars on which decisive action rests. Acting decisively should not be mistaken to mean that one has to prod on even if the writing on the wall is clearly not in favor of it. There are times when being decisive means cutting one’s losses and quitting. Being decisive is like driving a car, merely sitting on the driver’s seat and turning the steering is not enough; one has to start the engine, engage the gears and move ahead balancing the accelerator and the brake pedal.

Remember: First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination. Napoleon Hill

Action Points:

1. Assume you want to start your own business venture. What are the three possible options you would consider and why. List out three impediments to your business plan.
2. If you win a lottery of US1,000 what would you do with it?
3. What are the possible themes you will explore for your next birthday party?

This post is courtesy www.actspot.com

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