This is not just another cliche or one of those motivational buzz words that gets thrown around. It is a reality and I say this from a deep sense of personal conviction and experience. A lot of us limit our potential to grow and become better in life and impactful in life by giving the power to outside forces and not taking responsibility for our lives.

I used to think that someone had to change, something had to improve or the system had to get better before I could get what I wanted or become who I wanted to be. I lived under this false belief for a long while and how wrong I was indeed. I thought may be if we had a new government things will get better. If they paid me more salary, sure I would start to save and invest and so on…. Thankfully, I met mentors and read books which helped to form and change my thinking. I wrote a blog earlier on books which helped me to move from zero to a path of personal growth and development. On this subject, the best I have ever read is the Bible.

In Proverbs 4:23, the Bible says “Be careful how you think, your life is shaped by your thoughts” (GNB version). You might have read this Scripture before, but I would like you to pay attention to it. Perhaps, you might be reading it the first time. Whatever the case, I suggest you pause for a moment, read and reflect on that passage of the Bible and see how it affects the entire outcome of your life. You see, your mind is the factory where everything in your life is manufactured. Make no mistake about it, whatever your life is today, is a product of your own thinking. Psychologists and other professionals who have done extensive research on this subject will confirm the same today.

Recommended for reading:

Foundations of Success – You have a Right to Become Rich: Dealing with Limiting Beliefs and Becoming Successful and Becoming Limitless

Therefore if you look at your life today and you don’t like what you see, this is where to start from. When you change what you think about yourself, your life will begin to change. When you change what you think about others, their behaviour towards you will also start changing. When you change what you think about your boss, your family member or even those you regard as your enemies, their reaction towards you also begins to take a different turn. Don’t ask me how that happens. I wish I had an answer for you, but I don’t. What I just know is that it is true. I’ve read about hundreds of blogs on same subject and I find the same recurring theme.

The moment I changed my thoughts about myself, about money, success, health and wealth, everything around this subject began to change for me. I realized I had unknowingly placed a limit on myself and there was no way I could rise above the level of success or prosperity I had planted in my mind. So I had to change my thoughts. How did I change? The following are a few simple things I did and encourage you to do same.

1. Feed Your Mind With The Right Food

What kind of information do you listen to? Do you spend hours daily in front of the TV listening and watching things that do not contribute to the positive things you want to see in your life? Change that now. All other life forms need food to survive, but man is the only creature that needs both food and words.

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God” Matthew 4:4 

When I began to feed my mind with words from the Bible daily, gradually and imperceptibly, things began to change inside me. Rather than stuff my mind with negative news from the pages of the newspaper, the Bible became my daily bread. The change that followed over the course of time was unbelievable.

2. Develop a Daily Discipline of Nurturing Your Mind

The keyword is discipline. Whether its 5 minutes or 2 pages daily or one book every month, you must begin somewhere. Start today and stick to that plan. Miss a meal or a movie, but don’t miss that 5 minutes. Over time, it becomes a habit. Get on a program, enroll for a course, attend a seminar. Make that necessary investment to improve the quality of your life. Discipline. Discipline.  Discipline. I can’t overemphasize that. All successful athletes have a discipline or routine of regular practice. If you too want a better life, take the time to plant the right seeds.

3. Quality over Quantity

Its not the size or quantity of food that we eat that matters, but the quality. If you eat all the food in the world but don’t eat right, you might come down with malnutrition. The same applies to information we gather as well. If you feed on mental candies, your life will produce same results. If you take time to deliberately find the right information that will motivate, inspire and nudge you towards living a life of impact and meaning, you will get the right results.