A Person is Only Limited by the Thoughts He Chooses

Many of the circumstances in a person's life are often produced by him, or her self.

I believe we each create our own luck, whether it be good or bad. Consciously, or unconsciously, we may have at some time or another, produced our own conditions, desirable, or undesirable, either in our bodily health or other circumstances.

Many of these conditions in our lives, whether they be favorable or unfavorable, are largely determined by our beliefs.

You may not accept that. You might be like a lot of people that I have encountered that make excuses. Making excuses and casting blame only make us out to be the victim. There is absolutely no power in playing the part of a victim.

I know we each experience our own individual successes and failures because of our beliefs.

Our beliefs definitely determine the quality of our lives. The amount of money we earn is determined by our beliefs. We each earn the income we do today because of the beliefs we maintain. Simply because it is the amount we have limited ourselves to earn. We possibly could earn five, ten, twenty times, or more if we did not limit ourselves through our beliefs.

Don't believe that's true? Surely you know people who earn much more than you who don't have your education, your skills, or your intelligence. So why do they earn more than you?

It is a fact that one's belief system is ultimately responsible for whether they live a successful life or not. So, it would do each one of us good to get an understanding of our individual beliefs.

It starts with our thoughts. Our thoughts are what our belief system is composed of, and it is our beliefs that ultimately dictate the outcome of every area of our lives.

Your true beliefs are a sum total of all of your accumulated experiences over the course of your life. They create your expectations for future experiences, and your expectations are really nothing more than your current pattern of thought.

Your thoughts have brought you to where you are right now. But, you are not limited to the life you now live. It has been accepted by you as the best you can do at this moment. Any time you're ready to go beyond the limitations currently in your life, you're capable of doing that by choosing different thoughts.

Since there are tremendous reservoirs of potential within you, you are quite capable of doing anything you set your mind to (as long as it's within God's will for you). All you must do is decide that you can. And once you have made your mind up that you can do it, it's amazing how your mind begins to figure out how.

The "how" is the easy part. It's the "believing" part that trips up most people.

Jesus said in Mark 9:23, "All thing are possible to him who believes."

You are only limited by your beliefs, and it is your thoughts that make up your beliefs. Therefore, it makes sense to choose better thoughts. It's completely within your control. Choose thoughts that contribute to success and not failure, or a "settle for" attitude.

If you sincerely want to move on with your life, you can if you decide to.

Make a decision today to take full responsibility for where you are. Decide from this moment on that you will choose thoughts that contribute to a life of success and dismiss all thoughts of doubt, fear, and unbelief. God's Word says, "Whatsoever things are just, honorable, pure, lovely, good report, virtue, and praise, think on these things" (Phil 4:8).

Your thoughts are critical to the quality of your life! Jesus said in Matthew 9:29, "According to your faith, let it be done unto you." 

By: Daniel N Brown

Author Bio
Daniel N. Brown is an entrepreneur and teacher of biblical success principles. Get your FREE report entitled, "How to Receive from God" when you sign up for your FREE weekly newsletter. www.SecretPlaceOnline.com

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com/self-improvement/self_improvement/person_only_limited_by_thoughts.htm

Core Values: Responsibility Is Up to Me

People that prioritize responsibility as a core value are held in high regard. Employers, fellow employees, spouses, teachers, and students that are responsible are trusted, respected, and more likely to succeed. History records numerous examples of responsible heroes, leaders, and quotes regarding responsibility.

A straightforward example of taking responsibility is Harry Truman, the 33rd President of the United States. He was famous for having a desk sign stating, The Buck Stops Here. Photos show President Truman pointing to the saying and smiling, but taking responsibility, especially in difficult situations requires courage. In most cases, taking responsibility is guaranteed to disappoint someone or some group. The harsh critics of those who make tough decisions ironically are rarely in leadership positions. When offensive critics are leaders, failure to take responsibility for their decisions is common.

A more academic explanation in psychological terms for taking responsibility is a concept called locus of control (LOC) and is divided into two categories, external and internal. A dysfunctional external LOC is where people attribute success to luck or fate. Everyday examples include: playing the lotto as opposed to investing in oneself, talking to inanimate objects like it's the car's fault it ran out of gas, getting mad at the teacher for assigning that 15 page paper. Grouping all these examples together, an individual with a dysfunctional external LOC concludes, "Nothing good ever happens to me!"

A healthy external LOC is realistically accepting the things that can't be changed and not looking back. Physical stature, eye color, birth parents, childhood family circumstances, a tragic accident delaying attending college, among a host of other things are unfortunate. But whatever is out of a person's control must be accepted in order to move forward and be free of inducing a self-pity party.

Having an internal LOC success is attributed to one's own efforts and abilities. Failure is part of a bigger picture that leads to success. An internal LOC also has dysfunctional and healthy perspectives. A dysfunctional internal LOC is believing, "You can do anything if you put your mind to it!" Sounds nice, but not true!

At 5'7'' despite the most valiant efforts and even amazing athletic ability, playing center in the NBA is not an option. As seen on many TV dramas, "I promise I'll rescue your kidnapped child and bring him back safe!" In actual situations, that is at best bogus, but actually quite cruel to the family involved. Life is harsh at times with no guarantees.

A healthy internal LOC is taking responsibility. A realistic, yet filled with possibilities mentality is adapting and responding to circumstances as opposed to reacting. Psychological research has found that people inclined to a healthy internal LOC achieve more, get better-paying jobs, and have a more positive outlook. Sounds like an internal LOC is the way to go, but not so fast.

As mentioned before, there is a healthy external LOC so properly applied both categories have appropriate applications. Rather than attempting a balancing act, a better approach is to manage the tension between the two taking every circumstance individually and using wisdom and discernment. An either/or binary solution usually ends up distorting efforts and hindering the success that might be attained.

Extreme positions of always relying on luck or taking total control may work occasionally, but fall short and rob a person of fulfillment. The tension between internal and external LOC has been lightheartedly expressed in various forms by a number of famous people basically stating, "The harder I work, the luckier I get."

However, a person chooses to approach the concept of LOC, the long-term plan for success involves knowing the things to leave behind or turn away from and leaning into those that require multiple responses and refinements of process in order to gain the victory. A one-word explanation of this is persistence. A plaque sits on my desk with the quote, "The race goes not always to the swift... but to those who keep on running."

An edited version of President Truman's saying sums up this information, "The buck of responsibility stops here with me!"

By Dan Mularski, PhD

Article source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Core-Values:-Responsibility-Is-Up-to-Me&id=9921869

Speaker Dr. Dan Mularski guides students to be smart about higher education and live a life that matters. Get your FREE Ultimate Guide to Being Smart About Higher Education along with valuable tips from the Wisdom for the Week video-blog at http://www.DanMularski.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9921869