If you want to get permanent, lasting results in any endeavor, this is the first step.
Most people have areas of their life that are going great. But then there are those other areas that just don't seem to go the way we want them to. Do you have any area of your life that you want to change? Do you have a habit you want to break or a goal you want to achieve? Sometimes we already know what we need to do and we do it easily. Sometimes we know what to do but it's difficult for us to carry out the actions to do so. Not fun. Even worse is when we want to change something but we have no idea how to do it. Regardless of where you are, one thing remains constant. No matter what you want to change, it will not change until you first change your MIND. That doesn't just mean changing your mind and saying I want something different. It also means changing the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs you have. This is because ALL your behavior (actions and reactions) are driven by your mind. Behaviors can be carried out with your conscious awareness or they can simply be habitual patterns you run with little to no awareness.
“All behavior....your actions and reactions are driven by your own mind."
Not only is your behavior driven by your mind, but how you experience life also starts with the mind. Once you understand this principle then you can take charge of your own mind. THEN you have leveraging power to create real and lasting change.
Change Your Mind FIRST
When I say "change your mind" what do I mean? Well, your mind is filled with all the thoughts, beliefs and assumptions you have about yourself, different topics, the world in general, and so on. If you want to change something in your life then you first have to change the thoughts you have about the topic. For example, if you want to lose weight but the thoughts running through your head are along the lines of: "I can't eat the foods I love now." "I'm depriving myself of everything that tastes good." "I hate exercise." "It's not easy to lose weight." How motivated do you think you will be? It's going to be pretty hard to make the better food choices or get yourself off the couch with those kinds of thoughts. Your thoughts are in complete conflict with your desired outcome. But, if you change your MIND first, then your actions will come from a place that is in alignment with your goal. That is true power.
The majority of people have no idea that everything they do on a daily basis first starts with a thought of some kind. Many of those thoughts are old thoughts that created habits and patterns of behavior, so now the thought is no longer even conscious. It's become a behavior that's running on autopilot based on what has become a mindSET. Either way, it starts in the mind. We've got to start paying attention to our minds!
ACTION STEPS
1. Observe in your everyday life how many of your behaviors first start with a thought of some kind.
2. Observe how some of the actions and reactions you have now operate on autopilot because they are based on old thoughts. These thoughts are so ingrained that they are not even conscious thoughts anymore.
Examples:
~You think "I'm thirsty" so you go get something to drink.
~You think "I wonder what my sister is up to?" so you call her.
~You think "I hate doing paperwork!" so you procrastinate it.
~BUT....you manage to drive your car without even thinking about how to do it because it's a learned pattern at this point.
If you can see the value in changing your MIND first, then all behaviors will follow suit in a more harmonious and easy manner.