Your mind is like a GPS system. Your mindSET about something is the destination you've SET perhaps with little to no awareness of it. Many times we set our GPS on a place we don't want to go, or a place we've already been and didn't like, and sometimes we even forget we need to REset it...staying stuck where we currently are all the while hoping to be somewhere else.
If you want to go somewhere different from where you currently reside, you'll have to set the GPS with a new destination. The GPS needs two pieces of information....where you currently are and where you want to go. If you decide you want to go to New York and you're currently in Texas you plug the destination into your GPS. Your GPS has an overall path to get to New York from Texas. There may be several different ways of getting there but the destination is still the same. Some take longer, some shorter. Depends on what path you decide to take. Sometimes you might get off course and get re-routed. But as long as you keep that as your set destination and follow the next step, you'll eventually get there.
This is how life works too. Where have you set your GPS to head? Are you sticking to the course or do you keep turning in other directions? Is your gaze forward-facing or are you fixated on the rear window? Did you decide to go somewhere different but forgot to plug in new coordinates, thus staying stuck in the same spot?
Practical Application:
You have a goal to be a healthier version of yourself. (Plug in any goal.) Many people would prefer this but it doesn't mean they've actually set that as their destination. It may just be an idea in their head without actually plugging it into their internal GPS. To plug it in, you have to consciously decide that this is your desired destination. That means the majority of your thoughts need to be in alignment with this new goal. It's a new mindSET. You also need to accept where you currently are, without judgment. Where you are now has no bearing on where you can go, other than possibly affecting the time it takes or route to get there. That's ok!
So.... you set this goal as your destination. Now you follow the steps to get there. (If you don't know the steps, then that becomes a new mini-goal--"find out the next step for me to get healthier"). If you get off course, then you follow the steps to get back on track, keeping the desired destination in front of your eyes. When you're following a route, you don't disregard the next 5 steps trying to jump ahead, you follow the next RIGHT STEP. You also don't fixate on where you've been. You might remember that you started in Texas but you have New York in front of you on the GPS heading. The starting point is no longer relevant. If you obsess about where you used to be then that keeps Texas (where you once were) on the GPS rather than New York (healthier you). You also don't fixate on where you are right now. You can notice it. You can be aware of it. You can even enjoy the scenery of it. But, if it's not the ultimate destination then you can't get stuck there. Keep focusing on the heading and take one step forward at a time.
This principle applies to any goal you have.... a new job, new relationship, a new desired outcome for ANYTHING. Take notice of where you are in your life in relation to where you want to go and make sure you set the destination firm in your mind. If you get off track then re-route and get back on track. Remember, you can always change your destination. Some places are quicker trips than others but you can't get anywhere new if you don't do two things; know where you currently are and consciously set a new destination. If you don't intentionally do that then you're at the mercy of the default setting (which is usually stuck where you DON'T want to be). In fact, that's exactly how you got to be where you are.....because you didn't pay attention to where you wanted to go. Instead, you paid attention to where you DIDN'T want to go. (This means talking about, thinking about, worrying about, complaining about what you don't want.)
When you focus all your thoughts on what you don't like, complain about what isn't going right, worry about where you currently are, THIS is setting your GPS by default (unconsciously) and keeping the UNDESIRED destination plugged in. You must plug in where you DO want to go rather than where you don't. This takes a conscious decision on your part. This takes you paying attention to where your thoughts are and changing them to be in alignment with the GPS heading. If your thoughts are in alignment with heading back to Texas then you need to pay attention and shift them back to the New York heading as soon as possible. The longer they stay headed towards Texas (starting location) the further you head back in that direction.
ACTION STEPS:
Find out your current location. (Where are you now in relation to your goal?)
Decide where you want to go.
Set your mind to stay that course. (This means pay attention to your thoughts and make sure they are in alignment with your goal.)
Follow the next right step in your route. If you don't know what the next right step is, then either take the steps to find out or wait until it becomes clear to you. It will.
If you get off track, pause and re-route from where you are to get back on course.
Accept your current location while you head in the right direction. It's temporary.
Keep your eyes fixed on where you are headed, don't get stuck in where you have been.
Understand that obstacles may come up to slow your forward progress (road construction). Accept it for what it is and be patient, re-route if there is a quicker way to get there. Be flexible.
Enjoy the scenery.
REMEMBER: YOU ARE UNSTOPPABLE.
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