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In a sense, the notion that thoughts create reality is more than just a nice idea; it’s also a fact of evolution. It was because of language and thought that we could create a world within our minds, and ultimately, it is because of language and thought that we have evolved into the society we have today—for better and for worse.
That new awareness creates possibilities that would never exist had we not been forced to learn something new.
In a more cerebral context, if you consciously learn to regard the “problems” in your life as openings for you to adopt a greater understanding and then develop a better way of living, you will step out of the labyrinth of suffering and learn what it means to thrive.
Because ideas are what change lives—and
So much of our inner turmoil is the result of conducting a life we don’t inherently desire, only because we have accepted an inner narrative of “normal” and “ideal” without ever realizing.
You believe that creating your best life is a matter of deciding what you want and then going after it, but in reality, you are psychologically incapable1 of being able to predict what will make you happy.
In reality, you likely created something better, but foreign, and your brain misinterpreted it as “bad” because of that.
You extrapolate the present moment because you believe that success is somewhere you “arrive,” so you are constantly trying to take a snapshot of your life and see if you can be happy yet.
we forget that everything is transitory, and no one single instance can summarize the whole. There is nowhere to “arrive” to.
Accomplishing goals is not success. How much you expand in the process is.
You assume that when it comes to following your “gut instincts,” happiness is “good” an...
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Bad feelings should not always be interpreted as deterrents. They are also indicators that you are doing something frightening and worthwhile. Not wanting to do something would make you feel indifferent about it. Fear = interest.
You needlessly create problems and crises in your life because you’re afraid of actually living it.
an avoidance technique. It distracts you from actually having to be vulnerable or held accountable for whatever it is you’re afraid of.
You’re never upset for the reason you think you are: At the core of your desire to create a problem is simply the fear of being who you are and living the life you want.
You think that to change your beliefs, you have to adopt a new line of thinking, rather than seek experiences that...
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A belief is what you know to be true because experience has made it evident to you. If you want to change your life, change your beliefs.
You think “problems” are roadblocks to achieving what you want, when in reality they are pathways.
Simply, running into a “problem” forces you to take action to resolve it. That action will inevitably lead you to think differently, behave differently, and choose differently.
You think your past defines you, and worse, you think that it is an unchangeable reality, when really, your perception of it changes as you do.
what you choose is indicative of your present state of mind.
they have not evolved to the place of seeing how the past did not prevent them from achieving the life they want, it facilitated it. This doesn’t mean to disregard or gloss over painful or traumatic events, but simply to be able to recall them with acceptance and to be able to place them in the storyline of your personal evolution.
You try to change other people, situations, and things (or you just complain/get upset about them) when anger = self-recognition. Most negative emotional reactions are you ...
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it’s infuriating, not because you inherently dislike it, but because you have to fight your desire to fully integrate it into your whole consciousness. The things you love about others are the things you love about yourself. The things you hate about others are the things you cannot see in yourself.
Most adhered to rigid (and specific) routines.
The point is not what the routine consists of, but how steady and safe your subconscious mind is made through repetitive motions and expected outcomes.
routine is important because habitualness creates mood, and mood creates the “nurture” aspect of your personality,
Your habits create your mood, and your mood is a filter through which you experience your life.
moods are created by our habitualness:
The point is that it’s not one thought that throws us into a tizzy: It’s the pattern of continually experiencing that thought that compounds its effect and makes it seem valid.
You must learn to let your conscious decisions dictate your day—not y...
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Learning to craft routine is the equivalent of learning to let your conscious choices about what your day will be about guide you,
Happiness is not how many things you do, but how well you do them.
Happiness is not experiencing something else; it’s continually experiencing what you already have in new and different ways.
When you regulate your daily actions, you deactivate your “fight or flight” instincts because you’re no longer confronting the unknown.
As children, routine gives us a feeling of safety. As adults, it gives us a feeling of purpose.
You feel content because routine consistently reaffirms a decision you already made.
you affirm not only your choice to begin, but your ability to do it.
As your body self-regulates, routine becomes the pathway to “flow2.”
“Flow” (in case you don’t know—you probably do) is essentially what happens when we become so completely engaged with what we’re doing, all ideas or worries dissolve, and we’re just completely present in the task.
When we don’t settle into routine, we teach ourselves that “fear” is an indicator that we’re doing the wrong thing, rather than just being very invested in the outcome.
A lack of routine is just a breeding ground for perpetual procrastination.
They don’t assume that the way they think and feel about a situation is the way it is in reality, nor how it will turn out in the end.
They recognize their emotions as responses, not accurate gauges, of what’s going on. They accept that those responses may have to do with their own issues, rather than the objective situation at hand.
Their emotional base points are not external.
Understanding that they are the ultimate cause of what they experience keeps them out of falling into the trap of indignant passivity: Where one believes that as the universe has done wrong, the universe will ultimately have to correct it.
They don’t assume to know what it is that will make them truly happy.
we actually have no means to determine what would make us truly happy, as opposed to just feeling “saved” from whatever we disliked about our past experiences.
there are equal parts good and bad in anything.
They don’t think that being fearful is a sign they are on the wrong path.
