by: Pamela Glynn
Have you ever wondered why it is that some people seem to succeed at everything they decide to do, while others struggle through life never quite finding the success and fulfillment that in a sense is everyone’s right?
You might have done more than wonder. It might even be that you’ve felt envious of others’ successes … and begrudged them their fame, riches, big house, fast car or whatever. I must admit to having done my share of that when I was struggling and convincing myself that some had all the luck, while others had none.
But then I began to wonder whether they actually had endless luck … or something else. And I began to read up on the subject – autobiographies of successful people such as Richard Branson and Robert T. Kiyosaki – and books on how to achieve.
I learned something very interesting: the way we look at things makes all the difference between achievement and non-achievement. If we see something as impossible it quickly becomes impossible, whereas if we start looking hard for possibilities these start presenting themselves. It’s a question of ‘I can if I think I can’, which might seem simplistic – but then life is often simpler than we think!
Everything begins with a thought. Alexander Graham Bell could not have invented the telephone without first thinking that such a device must be within the bounds of possibility. Likewise Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin, and that other famous Fleming – Ian, creator of 007 James Bond. Imagine how much poorer we’d all be without ‘phones, antibiotics and the super-spy whose antics both on the written page and our cinema and TV screens have held millions enthralled!
And start imagining how you could improve your situation by thinking different thoughts. Instead of thinking ‘I wish I had his/her money, lifestyle, private plane, island etc’ start thinking of all that you do have and counting your blessings. As you count them, perhaps – if appropriate - starting with your health, you’ll begin to see that things could be a lot worse than they are and you can move on from there to develop an attitude of plenty rather than of lack.
I used to be forever focusing on what I couldn’t afford, rather than on what I could. One of my favorite expressions was ‘I can’t justify the cost of that’. Bit by bit I took myself in hand, developing a different attitude and beginning to understand that I was creating my own destiny. When I made a negative choice it was almost inevitable that there was a negative outcome, whereas when I erred on the side of the positive (thinking ‘I can’ instead of ‘I can’t’) the outcomes of my decisions started improving.
As these improved, so did my attitude – unless it all began with my attitude? Once I stopped focusing on lack and started permitting the flow of good things I found after a while that I lacked nothing.
I also found more to like about myself than I had found when I let envy color my perceptions. And the more I liked, the more I believed that absolutely anything is possible – which indeed it is, if you set out to be the best that you can be!
© Pamela Glynn
