Dear Friends,
The concept of getting what you think about is not a new idea. In fact, the belief that our thoughts shape our lives has been around for as long as humankind has philosophized.
As Earl Nightingale, author of “We Become What We Think About,” wrote in the 1950s:
“In the writings of every era, from the Taoist philosophy of Lao Tzu to the Stoic meditations of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius to the Transcendentalist essays of Emerson, the same truth appeared, over and over. . . We become what we think about.”
Nightingale was inspired by Napoleon Hills’ best seller “Think and Grow Rich.” Written in the 1930s, this book has influenced countless authors in the genre of positive thinking. Dozens have gone on to write about this topic from every perspective–scientific to religious–with the same basic premise.
From a scientific angle, we have the Reticular Activating System (RAS), which is a bundle of nerves at our brain stem that filters out unnecessary information. Your RAS takes what you focus on and creates a filter for it. It then sifts through the data and presents only the pieces that are important to you.
You can program your RAS by focusing on what you want. Focus on bad things and you will invite negativity into your life. Focus on good things and they will come to you, because your brain is seeking them out. If you have clear goals for your life, and focus on them regularly, your RAS will reveal the people, information and opportunities that help you achieve them.
What if it is true that you really do get what you think about? What if it’s true that if you have predominantly negative thoughts, you will have a predominantly negative life?
Well, we would all work hard at thinking positively, right?
Easier said than done. For one, it’s often viewed as “cool” to be negative, whether we admit it or not. People feel superior when they are right, and others are wrong. And, being positive is sometimes seen as naive and even simple.
It’s so much easier to focus on what isn’t going right, how people aren’t behaving the way we want them to behave, how things are not turning out as we had wanted. Our thoughts, without discipline, will succumb to entropy, and move into a state of disorder and decline.
But you can manage your thoughts, and change your thoughts, even under the direst of conditions.
Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, is a great example. Next week, “The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela” will be published. Here is an excerpt from the NY Times:
Writing to his wife Winnie nearly seven years into his imprisonment, Mr. Mandela shares his thoughts on the power of positive thinking.
“The Power of Positive Thinking” and “The Results of Positive Thinking” both written by the American psychologist Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, may be rewarding to read. The municipal library should stock them. I attach no importance to the metaphysical aspects of his arguments, but I consider his views on physical and psychological issues valuable. He makes the basic point that it is not so much the disability one suffers from that matters but one’s attitude to it. The man who says: I will conquer this illness and live a happy life, is already halfway through to victory.
… Remember that hope is a powerful weapon even when all else is lost.”
The life of Nelson Mandela, and his ability to forgive his captors of 27 years and go on to inspire and lead the people of South Africa, and influence countless leaders around the world, is a magnificent example of the power of positive thinking.
Mandela’s focus was on his vision, not his suffering. He was inevitably influenced by the words of President Lincoln, who said in his first inaugural speech, “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
And so, in summary, if we can all focus on “the better angels of our nature,” in our personal lives, in our communities, in our countries and in the world, we can activate our RAS and change the world for the better!
With hope,
Barbara Fagan-Smith
CEO, ROI Communication
Chief Catalyst, Living ROI
P.S. – Marina had a wonderful time backpacking in the Sierra Nevada, for those of you who read last week’s newsletter. And I was inspired by her experience, and my memories of the John Muir Trail, to take a quick trip to Tuolumne Meadows myself last week. It was during that trip, in a conversation with a lovely woman on a “grief tour” after her husband’s recent death, that this this topic of positive thinking came to be this week’s newsletter.
P.P.S. – I am a true believer in creating the life you want by proactively thinking about what you want and revisiting your goals on a weekly basis. I created “A Weekly Guild for Soulful Living” journal to facilitate this work, and you can download the PDF for free. Or buy the physical journal on Amazon.
I created Living ROI as a passion, to share what I’ve learned and support others who want to live more authentic, joyful and fulfilling lives.
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