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The Life Changing Power of Believing.

Abraham Lincoln famously became President of The United States in 1860.

But less famously behind that success lay nearly thirty years of failure and heartbreak. From being defeated in his nominations to the US Senate and Congress to losing his sweetheart in his mid-twenties when she died, losing his business and having a nervous breakdown, he never stopped aiming for his goal of the Presidency. He had the belief.

The legendary baseball player Babe Ruth was struck out over 1330 times in his career. All time superstar basketballer Michael Jordan estimated he completely missed scoring some 9000 times and lost over 300 games over the years despite winning every accolade on the court.

And Scottish tennis hero Andy Murray was beaten in hundreds of matches and four grand slam finals in a row before becoming the first British male for 77 years to win Wimbledon.

All of these have the same story. They experienced a life changing moment that they always believed in. A major dream, a pinnacle achievement they set their heart on, that seemed further and further away after each painful setback. But they never let that pain consume them. Or disappointment or doubt, themselves killers of hopes and wishes. They instead held the vision and the sheer power of believing that one day would be their day. And it was.

You are right to believe.

Belief is a personal thing. Where one person continues to believe in the outcome they desire despite seemingly negative results, another will fold and quit after one tiny loss. That’s because belief is powerful – just as Henry Ford, whose words have gone down in history, wisely observed, ‘Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right’. Belief decides the road we will take ahead; the low road to struggle or the high road to stellar accomplishment.

This is where we all are each day. Either believing we will win, or never will and that view gives power to our reality. And that’s why in the end winners come out on top and losers never get near because each only ever believed they would.

It’s all a journey in our mind and that’s why I’ll leave the last few words to the pop group Journey and their top hit, ‘Don’t stop Believin’,

‘Don’t stop believin, hold onto to that feeling’.

What journey have you been on? What power have your beliefs achieved?

What Matters Most.

Have you ever had a prized possession?

A special or sentimental item that means the world to you? One that you cherish or what matters most?

Many of us can put our hands up to this. Some own a teddy bear from their childhood that brings back special memories. Others have a family heirloom that has been handed down through the generations that they would never part with. And quite a few of us have a modern possession we adore such as a classic sports car or autograph from a sporting idol.

What’s yours?

These things often have little financial value or at least not what we might have paid for them. But that isn’t the same within our mind (and our heart that the mind influences). What matters most to us is priceless and the importance we attach to them means they are something money just could not buy.

But you know what? The same applies to our thinking. We get so absorbed in certain thoughts they become an extension of us and so we struggle to let go of them. We carry them in our mindset for years and simply cannot put them down because they relate to a certain time or person or situation that once existed. Like our physical prized possessions they become part of us.

The difference is our mementos we hold dear don’t prevent us purchasing current day items. A cuddly 50 year old bear never prevents you buying new toys for your own children. Dad’s old pipe is kept safe locked away and as you don’t smoke it has no effect on what you spend money on day to day. What matters most related to olden times never gets in the way of what matters most with our needs today.

BUT THOUGHTS DO!

Our old, fixed thinking may be good for our teenage years or when we had a financial challenges a decade ago, but we can’t truly move into tomorrow with a mindset of yesterday. The world has moved on, people have moved on, the circumstances have moved on…..but we’re still holding onto what we used to think. We’ve not moved on mentally and often it results in our life never moving on either.

What matters most now as you approach another new year is that you take a look at your thoughts to check if they maybe some prized mental possessions that aren’t so prized any more. A threadbare toy bunny will last a lifetime in its benefit to you but threadbare thoughts well past their sell by date may not be bringing you any joy for Christmas, New Year, and every other day in the future.

Take a look at them. What thinking should you lock away and never get out again?

It’s time for some new prized mindset beliefs.

Because if your life is to thrive, that’s what matters most.