Same Old Thinking, Same Old Results

"Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future." - Deepak Chopra

 

I'm sure you've heard the old adage's that "The same old thinking leads to the same old results," or "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

 

We continue to create vicious cycles for ourselves:

 

• We all want some things in our lives to change. But aren't willing to take a risk or face our fears.
• We all hope things could be different in some way. But we fail to gain a clear understanding of precisely what we want or how we want things to be.
• We want to live healthier lives. But we continue to drink too much, overeat (or the wrong things), and exercise too little.
• We want more. A better job, better income, more wealth. Yet we don't work to gain more knowledge, more experience to prove our worth. Or sometimes just fail to go after what we want and do what it takes to get it.
• We're not truly happy with the way things are. But we are not willing to do anything about it (other than complain).

 

The problem is we often live with good intentions but do not always live intentionally. The slight difference between the two is: Intentions are firmly fixed on the idea of what you hope to do or might do. Meaning it is planned and done deliberately, on purpose. Being intentional involves conviction and requires action, and prompts activity.

 

• We need to be willing to accept change.
• We need to be willing to be courageous and take risks.
• We need to be willing to resist and master our fears.
• We need to be willing to stop wasting time worrying.
• We need to be willing to do something different to get different results.
• We need to be willing to create new and better habits and cycles.

 

Start by changing your mindset. There is a relation between mindset and results. Your mindset is responsible for your results, and likewise, your results are responsible for your mindset. It's a cycle. You can create a positive upward or negative downward spiral.

 

We tend to believe our own stories of why it's okay to be the way we are or live the way we do. We end up settling for less than we want or become less than we are meant to be. Getting poor results affects your mindset leaving you feeling unmotivated to do a good job. This, in turn, feeds back into a poor mindset again.

 

Say you start your day by watching the news or reading all of the negative things on social media. And read about all the bad things that happened while you were asleep. This puts you in an unhealthy mood. So then you eat some junk food for breakfast instead of something healthy. This causes you to feel sluggish, tired, and lazy. But you need to work, so you force yourself through your day by sheer willpower, without energy. And, of course, you get poor results. Which leaves you unmotivated and unsatisfied with your performance and results. Your poor results lower your self-esteem and destroy your mindset even more. Causing you to put in even less effort into your work the next time, potentially creating even worse results. And this goes on and on and on. That's the negative downwards spiral.

 

However, if you start your day out with energy and excitement, you find yourself highly motivated and full of great new ideas with a positive mindset. This, of course, leads you to better results. Those great results reinforce your positive mindset. Your productivity and creativity increase as you begin to feel better about yourself and your achievements. Which increases your motivation and positivity. You create a positive upward spiral. When you start your day with a positive mindset, you position yourself for positive outcomes.

 

Doing things like reading books, thinking about what you are grateful for, rethinking your goals helps get yourself motivated and inspired. Maybe get up and get moving, exercise or start by eating something nutritious and healthy. If you do this, you will have a higher level of thinking which will influence your results.

 

Work to continue this throughout your day. Be creative and keep finding new ways to improve yourself and your mindset. Get yourself motivated and inspired before you start working. This will increase your productivity and creativity, which will bring you better results, and in turn, those results will serve as motivation to do great work again.

 

Mentally tough people are flexible and are constantly adapting to situations and circumstances as they occur. They know that fear of change can be paralyzing and a significant threat to their success and happiness. Instead, they anticipate change and form a plan of action should these changes occur. 

 

Only when you embrace change can you find the good in it. You need to have an open mind and open arms if you're going to recognize and capitalize on the opportunities that change creates. Change is going to happen. You either create it, or you are a result of it. You're bound to fail when you keep doing the same things; you hope that ignoring change will make it go away.

 

What stories have you told yourself as to why you haven't achieved the things you desire? Write the script of your own life, rehearse it in your mind, then go out and perform it to the best of your ability. If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought. Change the way you think, and you will change your life.

 

Make the right choices. Start today.

 

Make today great!

 

Curtis

 

"If you want to change your results, don't focus on changing your behaviors. Change your focus to the beliefs that drive your behaviors." - John Assaraf