Your Thoughts Are Your World
I am not a great philosopher or thinker. Everything I’ve learned has been the product of other people’s brilliance, not mine. But I’m happy to say that I think, through the wisdom of other people, I’ve developed a very healthy attitude towards life and it’s one of the reasons that I started this website. Through the great thinkers through the ages, I have been led down a path that has allowed me to a life I wouldn’t change in any way. I’ve learned that your thoughts are your world and it isn’t what happens to you in life that creates your existence but, rather, how you react to it. Wars and destruction are terrible, but some of our greatest heroes have emerged from those trials. The Great Depression wiped out the wealth of many, but others were able to create their fortunes by providing what people wanted and could afford. Life doesn’t come with an owner’s manual but the wisdom of those who have gone before us provides all the guidance we need if we take the time to listen to their words and act on them.
When you finally realize that your thoughts are your world, you start to explore how to control your mind.
I was probably about forty years old when I realized that I had to do something to improve my outlook on life. Some of my life was absolutely wonderful. I had married a saint and had two wonderful children and a nice home. I had a job that paid me well, but the job itself was absolute torture. I now realize that I must have a problem with authority figures because it was mostly the upper management that I had trouble with. I hated school and wouldn’t have minded if every day was a snow day. I just liked to be left alone. I still do as a matter of fact, and I understand that this is my problem of my own creation and I have no one to blame but myself. I had great parents who were loving and supportive, so I take full responsibility for interpreting my existence in a very negative way. Your thoughts are your world, so I had to find a way to change my thoughts, or I was heading toward a miserable existence.
Norman Vincent Peale may have been the first voice of reason I came across, and he said that if you change your thoughts, you change your world and to be grateful for everything that you have. I believe that last thought is the most important because I have never met anyone who is truly grateful for everything that they have and is still unhappy. True gratitude and unhappiness have a lot of trouble co-existing over an extended period of time. Losing a loved one is one of the saddest things that can happen but, if you are grateful for the time that you had together, you have a lifeline toward moving forward and putting that difficult time behind you. It’s not easy by any means, but being truly grateful for having the person in your life at all is something you need to hold on to. Everything we have in life is a gift. We come in with nothing, and we will leave with nothing but, hopefully, the people we meet along the way will be better because of our existence.
Reaching retirement age is a milestone many people don’t get to experience. I am truly grateful for this time in my life where there is no job waiting for me to get to, no homework assignments and no project deadlines except for those that I have created for myself. I couldn’t wait to get to this stage in my life and I’m happy to say that retirement hasn’t disappointed me in any way. It’s going quicker than I want it to but that’s just how life is. At this stage, we learn to be grateful for the things that matter and usually it’s the small things that we appreciate the most. My wife’s home-made chicken soup and a glass of wine in the evening are the perfect ending for any day. When you learn to be grateful for things like a warm and safe place to sleep, you realize how fortunate we are to be able to live like that in a world being threatened by war, fires, floods or the hatred of other people. Everyone has a right to those things but, sadly, many children have grown up not knowing where their next meal will come from. But even in that sorry world there will be those who rise above their surroundings because there is nothing the human spirit cannot overcome with the proper mindset and attitude because your thoughts are your world and you can make it bright with enthusiasm or dark with despair.
If you’ve been prone to looking at the world and seeing all the problems like I was (and still struggle not to be), why not take a trip to your local bookstore and spend some time in the self-improvement aisle. You’ll find a whole new world of inspiration in the works of Wayne Dyer, Zig Ziglar, Bob Proctor, Norman Vincent Peale, Napoleon Hill, Matthew Kelly and many, many others. You’ll see a consistent theme throughout their writings, and you may even feel like you’ve heard it all before but that’s the secret. You may have heard it before, but what did you do about it? The words have been there for centuries but it’s like the parable Jesus told. The seeds have been planted for thousands of years but not all of the seeds have taken hold. Your thoughts are your world, but when will you allow those thoughts to change your world? It’s a life-long mission but, when you finally make it part of your existence, your whole life will change. Why not start today? It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!
Thanks for visiting. If you like what you see here, please tell your friends. If you haven’t done so already, be sure you take The Self Discovery Challenge for Retirement! It’s designed to help you make the most of this wonderful time of your life. You’re never too old to discover something new about yourself!
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