Change your thoughts and you can change the outcome.

As a follow-up to my recent blog post: You become what you think about, I wanted to expand on this topic a little further.

Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions. What are you thinking about and focusing on?

Negative thinking, excessive worrying and being anxious about things you can’t control transforms your mindset for the worse and limits your ability to look for opportunities and become creative.

With practice, you can train your brain to think differently. When you give up those self-limiting beliefs, you’ll be better equipped to reach your greatest potential.

Optimism, creativity, imagination and realistic confidence are difference makers and the key for dealing with and overcoming challenges. These attributes also making you more appealing and interesting to others and a joy to be around.

I have learned more from dealing with, and working through, challenges and setbacks in my life. Everything from health problems to career upheaval and relational difficulties have forced me to reassess, refocus and recalibrate. Every time the outcome has been for the better. Was it easy? No way. Was it worth it? Yes.

The bad “stuff” hits your screen all day long. It’s relentless. If you consume too much of it, you start sounding and acting like what you’re allowing in. Notice I said, “allowing in”.

YOU have the final decision of what gets into your head and what influences what you think and how you act.

A few thoughts to leave you with:

• Find the facts.
• Be objective and fair.
• Think for yourself.
• Try to understand the other person’s opinion and what led to it? (There may be a good case for their frustration or anger.)
• Just because someone thinks differently than you do doesn’t make them a “bad” person or “wrong”.
• Present your perspective to others rationally and fairly.
• Listen objectively.
• Ask more and better questions, not leading ones that corner someone into your way of thinking.
• Be open to opinions that don’t align with yours to learn and grow. (You don’t know everything. You just don’t.)
• Look for the good. There’s still a lot of it out there in many places and in many people.