to the quality or habit, of doing what you have to do, whether or
not you feel like doing it.
Very soon, we'll enter the last third of the year 2010.
Is there still a gap between where you intended to be
at the beginning of the year, and where you are at the moment?
Have you taken action consistently, to bring you closer to your
goals, since the start of the year? Or have you slacked off, or become
discouraged by the outward appearance of things because 'nothing
seems to be happening, so it's no use'?
Very often I find that when someone has a gap between where
they'd like to be and where they currently are, a major reason
is that they have not applied discipline in one area or another.
Sometimes people treat the word 'discipline' as though it's
a dirty word. It's got negative connotations in the mind of many.
Yet that word holds the key to your breakthrough, to the
manifestation of your goals. Jim Rohn once called discipline
'the bridge between your dreams and their realisation'.
And he's right.
Now, it's likely that when you think of 'discipline' you think in
terms of physical actions you need to take, whether or not
you feel like doing those things. That's a big part of it, I agree.
But this week I want to draw your attention to another, very
important aspect of discipline you need to apply.
I'm talking about Thought Discipline.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying all you have to do is think positive
and your dreams will come true. Matter of fact you can think positive
until you are blue in the face, or until you get brain cramps - nothing
happens until something moves. Action seals the deal.
However, thought disipline is where it all begins. You see, the right thinking
patterns keep you in the right mental state, and the right mental state influences
your behaviour or actions.
Thought discipline means the following: Action Points
- You have a goal (if you don't have one written down, write one now! Make it big enough to inspire you but not so big you're overwhelmed into paralysis. Give it a deadline or time frame for achievement. Make it specific. Make it your goal, not someone else's. Make it measurable so you can assess your progress.). A goal gives you direction in life. Gives you a reason to jump out of bed each morning, raring to go, go, go make it happen.
- You have a vision of your desired outcome. If you don't have one, set some time aside to create one. A vision is like a mental movie with you as the main character, director and producer. It's a powerful tool in the whole goal achievement process, as every top performer in athletics and other fields, knows. So create your mental movie. It should make you feel inspired, hopeful, confident, happy and grateful. If not, rewrite the script.
- You have a system for holding fast that vision of your desired outcome. This is where discipline really comes into the picture: you've got to focus on your vision while the outward appearances are different. Hold on to your vision even when things look to be going in the opposite direction. This is the test of your faith. This is where discipline starts.
When you hold fast to your vision with faith, gratitude and expectation, you are empowered and motivated from within, to do what is necessary, to bring it to pass.
Right here is where many people stumble. They meet discouragement and start to think about the setback - thus taking their eyes off the goal. Thus they shift their focus from the desired outcome, to an undesirable outcome. Don't do this, otherwise your actions will correspond, and you will move away from your desired outcome, rather than towards it.
What you focus on really does expand, because your thoughts set in motion events and actions that magnetize you to the object of your dominant thoughts.
How To Focus On Your Vision: 5 top tips
- Go to the movies: Discipline yourself to watch your mental movie at least twice each day.
- Affirm your goals either in writing or by speaking it out, at least twice each day. With today's technology, eg the iphone, you can record yourself reading out your affirmation list onto your voice memo, then play that back to yourself several times each day.
- Vision boards are a great tool for helping you stay focused: find images that reflect/communicate your desired outcome and stick them on the vision board. Put the board where you can easily see it several times each day.
- Practice daily gratitude for your desired outcome - this automatically forces you to think about what you're being thankful for, raises your level of positive emotion ("vibration") about it, which in turn motivates you from the inside, to take the necessary ACTION to make it happen. This is part of how 'attraction' works.
- Choose your associations carefully. Don't hang out with nay sayers, dream stealers and other negative influences, as you may find yourself thinking like they do - you cannot afford to be detracted from your vision if you are serious about making it happen for you.
Start deliberately disciplining your thoughts today by acting on what you've just read. Be consistent. Refuse to quit or give up. Learn from the farmer, who plants a seed and then patiently waits for his harvest, nurturing the soil in the meantime. He doesn't get impatient if he hasn't got a full blown plant by end of the week. Nor should you.
Now go make it happen for you!
Blessings to ya!
