As a young girl, I found a particular poem titled: Thinking, written by Walter D. Wintel, very inspiring and reflective. I still do. The essence of this poem is to express the power that our thoughts have over our lives.
Where the mind goes, the man follows.
Our daily lives consist out of choices, big and small, and each one of them slowly but undoubtedly shapes our futures. We make decisions based on the thoughts we occupy ourselves with; thus, our thoughts are the building blocks of our lives. Now choices, in general, can be very confusing at times… or at least, so we think. Have you noticed though that the confusion only lasts if a decision is not yet made? Once the decision is made, confusion disappears quite magically, because we do indeed follow our minds. Whether choices are difficult or not, the one thing we can say about any decision is that it always has some impact.
You cannot sow maize seeds and expect a harvest of potatoes.
You always reap what you sow, and this same concept applies to the human mind. Most of the time, we instinctively know if our thoughts are negative or positive. Any idea that relates to “I can’t”, or “it’s not possible”, is negative, while a view that creates the expectation and challenge to succeed is seen as positive. If we can recognize negative thinking though, shouldn’t we also be able to conclude that a negative input will most likely result in a negative output? Even if you are a positive person, entertaining negative thoughts have the potential to corrupt your bright soul, and when you succumb to negativity, so do your actions and outcomes.
Our thoughts hold power over us.
You cannot become a slave of any substance if you don’t make a conscious choice to engage in the frequent use of it. We choose to give things power over our lives, and that who holds power over us controls us. We’ve all heard people using the expression, “Come hell or high water, I will do this.” This statement indicates a deliberate choice, where thought has led to a considered application of one’s will, to achieve something. I think we can all agree that one cannot succeed in anything if a deliberate choice is not made to make it work. Not one of us can continue to blame our parents or our past for who we are today. The day that we’ve become adults was the day our parent’s choices became redundant and our own significant for our lives. The person you are today is the result of the decisions you made yesterday.
Whatever you choose to believe, is exactly what you will receive.
Choose today to think about what you are thinking. If you become aware that you are tipping the scale towards the negative, then change your thinking immediately. You do have the power to choose your thoughts. Keep on planting good seeds, and they will come up killing the bad weeds… And we all do have those bad weeds, inceasingly trying to choke the life out of us. Make a conscious decision to become an advocate of constructive thinking. Feed your mind with inspiring people, encouraging reading material and deliberate actions. Get rid of the negative, energy draining things in your life. Purposely ensure that your thoughts are optimistic, to build a progressive future. If you reflect on this, you would realise that we are indeed accountable for what we think, do and who we become.
Thinking
If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don’t,
If you like to win, but you think you can’t
It is almost certain you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are
You’ve got to think high to rise; You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!
By Walter D. Wintel
Touch Base 