In this in-depth article I take a look at what the phrase “change your thoughts change your world” really mean, and how you can use it to your advantage. I also include 2 easy ways to get started today to change your mindset so you can find success in all areas in your life.
Change your thoughts, change your world
Change your thoughts and you change your world, I’m sure you’ve heard this at least once somewhere.
Or rather, “Your thoughts create your life”.
It’s a popular phrase amongst the Law of Attraction and Abundance crowd.
Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram are full of quotes from famous people on the power of your mind and how, when you change your mind, you can change your thoughts.
I don’t necessarily believe you can use the power of thoughts alone to think yourself into a $10million lottery win through the law of attraction, but I can tell you that your thoughts most definitely do change your world.
Your thoughts directly affect your emotions and your feelings. If you feel negative about something, it’s because you first had a negative thought.
Whereas a positive thought will help you feel happy, relaxed, and at peace, negative thoughts make you feel anxious, depressed, stressed and without peace or hope.
And how you FEEL eventually influences how you see the world, and your place in it.
Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you are right! -Henry Ford
A wise man once said, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you are right!”.
It’s a quote commonly attributed to Henry Ford although I have reason to believe it predates him, but I have no real proof of this.
It doesn’t matter who said it, when you stop to think about it, you’ll realise how true that statement is.
Career
If you think you are not good enough for that promotion at work, you won’t even try to get it.
You are probably too scared to even talk to your boss about it.
You might simply spend your time moaning about how everyone in life is so much luckier than you, or better at things.
But if you think that maybe you can do the job, then you are willing to take the scary step and talk to your boss, and start taking the necessary actions to make it happen.
But first you must believe it is possible. It all starts with your mindset.
Here’s how my first promotion went.
I always thought I wasn’t good enough. Then a colleague got promoted. Having worked with him for many years, I did not think he was better than me. And in fact, in order for him to be promoted he had to do all these side projects, which left me picking up the slack in the day to day jobs.
And he got promoted.
I realised then the only difference between us was that he asked, and I didn’t.
He asked because he thought he deserved it, I didn’t.
I had created my own world, just as he had created his own world.
Once I realised that, the way I thought about myself changed and I immediately set out to get the same promotion. Which I did.
I now run a much bigger and more important team than he does.
But first I had to believe that I could.
Here’s another example.
I work in the financial industry. In fact, I work for an investment bank.
Investment banks are notorious for a couple of things, lots of money, lots of greed, and staffed with people that went to the “right” schools.
Now I work in IT, I did not go to the right school, and in fact, I don’t even have a university degree.
I’ve done quite well in the industry given my education. Or lack thereof.
I also know a few others who have succeeded in spite of all odds.
I also know a LOT of people who complain constantly that only the rich become richer, that they’ll never achieve anything because they didn’t have the same opportunities as the rich kids who went to private schools.
While I’m not going to argue that being born into wealth and privilege doesn’t lead to more wealth and privilege, I also know that growing up poor certainly does not have to hold you back.
Everything I’ve done, as a woman, with no university degree, in an industry full of private school educated rich people from the right family, anyone can do.
Yet I still hear other young women complain, and men.
Their own negative thoughts create this world where they think others are holding them back, in some cases deliberately, but it’s untrue.
They just refuse to see that there are opportunities all around them for the taking.
There are opportunities everywhere, you just have to see them, and then take them.
But unless you can change your thoughts, you cannot change your world.
Love
If you think you are unlovable, you will always push people away from you.
When you push people away, eventually they’ll give up.
People have their own fears and insecurities after all, they have their own demons to fight.
If you keep pushing them away, only a handful really strong people will stick it out.
If you keep pushing those people away too, eventually they’ll leave and not come back.
This will serve to prove to yourself that you were right, you are unlovable.
Your thoughts have created your world.
However, when you think you are lovable and that you bring a great deal of love and joy and happiness to a relationship, that people enjoy your company, people will naturally want to hang out with you.
They will want to be around you and spend as much time as possible with you.
Look around you, who are the people everyone likes and wants to spend time with?
I bet if you spend some time observing this, you’ll notice it’s the confident, relaxed and happy people.
Everyone loves those people.
They make us feel good about ourselves.
They bring lots of positivity to our lives.
Think about it, do you want to spend time with an insecure person who is negative and put themselves down all the time?
Or do you want to spend time with a positive and confident person?
And which one are you more likely to fall in love with?
If you think you are unlovable, your words, your actions and behaviour, your negativity and your constant belittling of yourself will eventually drive everyone away. And that will really make you feel unloved and unlovable.
But if you have more positive thoughts about yourself and who you are, you will naturally attract people to you.
So it all starts with your thoughts. Or rather, learning to change them.
Change your thoughts and you change your love life, and in doing so, you change your world and your life.
Money
Ah money!
My favourite subject!
Mostly because so many of us have such a negative opinion about money.
It’s like society has brainwashed us into thinking money is evil.
But I think it’s more likely that our lack of money is the reason we find ways to make it out that money is evil, that way, our lack of money can’t bother us.
But money is just an inanimate object and you can do as much good with it as bad.
Money is only good or bad depending on the hands that hold it.
Yet we feel a great deal of negativity about money.
It has certainly taken me years to get to a point where I like and enjoy money, and I have given myself permission to want more.
And you know what, I am not an evil person. I give a great deal of money to my family, I enjoy paying and taking people on nice holidays, or taking people out for fancy dinners in amazing restaurants.
I also give money to charity.
In fact, I even give money to Wikipedia on a monthly basis.
Not to mention it’s a relief to know that I have enough money in my bank account to see me to the end of the month without stressing about it.
More money hasn’t made me a bad person, I am still the same person I was a few years ago.
But there was a long time when I was so afraid that having a lot of money would make me a bad person, that it actually held me back at work.
I thought that asking for a pay rise would make me an evil, ugly and greedy person.
Now, here’s the thing. I had become aware that I was actually being paid less than everyone else on my team, by about $10-15k less.
And yet I still thought to ask for a pay rise would make ME a greedy person.
How messed up is that!
My own thoughts about money held me back from just drawing equal with my own team.
Luckily, I have put in the hours and effort to change my mind around money.
These days I would like to have as much money as Bill and Melinda Gates so I too can set up a charity or non-profit that will spend all it’s money on education for kids from poorer communities, where they are unlikely to even finish high school much less get any type of college or university education.
I could really use millions of dollars to directly improve the lives of kids the world over, and give them the same opportunities as those kids born into really rich families who go to fancy private schools.
Money would most certainly not be a bad thing in that scenario, only good.
For the record, I don’t have that kind of money. Yet! 🙂
Other ways my negative thoughts about money impacted me include over paying for things, not sending things back when they are clearly not fit for purpose or over priced, always insisting on paying for friends’ dinners or drinks, even though they can afford it themselves, refusing discounts when offered, and being totally unable to negotiate on anything, including what my first house was worth when I was buying it or selling it.
Even now, with my more improved outlook on money, I still have my issues, including asking for a pay rise.
My point is, money is not bad.
You are entitled to having more money.
You having more money does not mean that someone else suddenly has less, the world actually doesn’t work that way.
I give you permission to want more money!
Money = Force for Good!
By changing the way you think about money from bad to good, you can change your world and the amount of money you have available to spend on loved ones.
Think about it this way, money might not make you happy, but I can guarantee you poverty won’t make you happy either.
Can thoughts change your reality?
So I think by now I’ve given you at least some examples and ideas on how your thinking influences your own reality.
A negative mindset, leads to a negative attitude, and you will perceive the world as more negative.
A positive attitude, and positive thinking, eventually lead to more positive experiences and to a more positive life.
Therefore, if you can change your thoughts, you can change your world.
Here is another example.
When you are full of negative thoughts, when you feel you are not good enough, when you think that you are not capable of achieving or having the same things as your peers, you stop trying to improve your life.
When you think negatively about others, that other people are selfish, only out for their own benefit, that no-one wants to help you or care about you, well then it’s hard to see when someone holds out a helping hand.
When you don’t see that helping hand, even when it’s in front of you, you assume there is no helping hand.
I have a close family member who is prone to thinking the worst of other people.
And even when someone does something nice for this family member, that family member will automatically assume there is some secret selfish motivation behind the kind gesture.
So instead of seeing something nice, seeing a king hearted act from one human being to another, that family member sees something sinister, and simply assumes that this kind act proves that the world is a bad place full of ugly, selfish people.
Instead, compared to me, when someone does something nice for me, I accept the kind gesture and I immediately think that the world really is a wonderful place. For me it’s a positive experience.
The situation is the same but our perception of it is worlds apart.
In other words, our thoughts create the world as we see it.
You expect bad things, you only see bad things.
You expect good things, you only see positive things.
See, the world doesn’t need to change, only your perception of it, and how you see your place in society needs to change.
Change your thoughts and you change how you see the world.
In order to change your life you must change your thoughts
So if you want to change your life, and change your world, then you must start by changing the way you think about the world.
You must change your thoughts and your mindset, which will change the way you see yourself amongst your peers, and in society.
Changing your way of thinking is not easy, after all, you’ve been doing it a certain way for most of your life, but it’s also not that hard.
You must first recognize that sometimes the way you think about the world is not helpful.
See, when we are born, when we grow up, no-one teaches us HOW to think.
We sort of fall into it, and then are heavily influenced by our parents and family, the environment, the media, the wrong friends or society in general.
Just going to a school where there are high expectations on you will change the way you see yourself and the achievements or success you can have in life, versus someone who goes to a school where the teachers are overworked and don’t even notice or care if you skip class.
It doesn’t help that no-one even thinks to practise their thinking, like you would practise sports or studying or even writing or cycling.
Like learning to walk, we just figure it out along the way ourselves, and then we stop making an effort.
I mean, when was the last time you practiced walking? Like breathing, it’s just something you do without thinking.
See I practise my thinking. On a regular basis. I read books on how to improve my thinking, I listen to seminars, I watch youtube videos.
I do affirmations, I do prayers, I watch out for negative thoughts popping into my head, and I remind myself regularly that these are the sort of thoughts I want to have more of, while those I want to have less of.
How do I change my thoughts to change my life?
By now you must be wondering how can I change my thinking!
First, you must be willing to try.
Without this willingness, you cannot change your thoughts or change your world.
Secondly, forget all the nonsense you read online about “think positive thoughts”.
While not untrue per se, it’s very over simplistic and unhelpful.
I mean, if it was that easy, why is everyone not doing it?
Changing from a negative mindset to a positive mindset is not easy, but it’s not hard either.
And luckily for you, since I’ve done it to myself, I have some awesome practical examples on where to start so you too can become more positive. These are easy actions you can take today to make your future a better, happier and nicer place.
Thirdly, you must understand that this will take time, years probably. You have a lot of negative mindset habits you will have to change, that’s been there with you since you were a little child.
I have been practising positivity for years now, and I keep finding more negative corners in my mind where tiny negative creatures like to hide in the dark.
However, the more you do it, the easier it gets.
I can now go from negativity to positivity almost at the flip of a switch, whereas before, it would take me days, if not weeks, to free myself from a negative thought loop.
I like to call them thought loops because that’s what your brain seem to do, it creates a loop of ugliness that goes round and round in your head, imagining worse and worse scenarios until you lying in bed alone at night crying yourself to sleep over something that has not happened, and probably never will.
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Changing how you think and feel
The Practice of Gratitude
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. -Logan Pearsall Smith
Gratitude is one of the fastest ways to improve your mindset from negative to positive. To change your thinking from negative thoughts to positive thoughts.
It’s very easy to forget the good things in your life and only focus on the bad things you see in the world.
But by deliberately setting time apart to PRACTISE feeling grateful, you really force yourself to focus your thoughts on the good things in your life.
I like to use the world PRACTISE because that is what you are doing.
If you want to get better at singing or cycling, you need to practise. If you want to start doing marathons or triathlons, you need to practise to get better.
It’s the same for thinking and feeling.
However, practising feeling grateful for everything you have is a short cut through your brain and the thoughts you tend to have.
You are deliberately focusing on positivity, but not through empty affirmations you repeat a hundred times, instead you are nudging yourself into FEELING positive by focusing on the many good things you can feel grateful for.
Here’s what I do, before going to bed, or before getting up in the morning, I run through everything in my life I feel grateful for.
My house, my friends, my family, my health, my job that pays me a good salary even though I don’t like it so much anymore, my boyfriend, the amazing weather, the fact I have a house and a warm bed during bad weather.
Really go for it.
Thank the universe, thank god, thank you parents, thank your
It also helps if you write it down.
Old fashioned handwriting is an excellent way to force your mind to focus on the words you are thinking, feeling and saying/writing, giving it more importance somehow, so they seep deeper into your subconscious mind.
It only takes a few minutes, no more than 5, probably less.
Try doing it every day for at least a week, although 2 weeks are better.
If you are prone to lying in bed at night wide awake, replaying the day’s events over and over, then do it before going to bed.
You’ll find that your mind becomes more positive, relaxed and happy, so you will fall asleep more easily and wake up with more energy and positivity.
So if you are looking for something you can start today, that is easy to do and will help you make a powerful change to your future, then the practice of gratitude is a great place to start to change your thoughts and to change your world.
I have written extensively on how the practice of gratitude has changed my life for the better. I also have a Gratitude Challenge which you can subscribe to.
Positive Affirmations
I like affirmations, they are short, sweet and powerful.
They are very good for fighting your more obvious types of negative thinking.
They are also very good at reprogramming your mind and therefore help to change your thoughts.
- I am fat.
- I am ugly.
- I am stupid.
- No-one will ever love me.
- I will never amount to anything.
When I have thoughts like that pop into my head, I would quickly affirm to myself:
- My body is beautiful, healthy and strong, and perfect in every way.
- I am beautiful just the way that I am. I have value just the way I am. My value is not tied to my looks.
- I have done and achieved many things other people haven’t. I am obviously not that stupid.
- I am a great catch. I am funny and witty, I cook a great meal, I look after people. I am kind and generous. Who wouldn’t want to be with me!
- Look how far I’ve come in life, everything I’ve already done I didn’t think I could. I just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Who said change your thoughts and you change your world?
“Change your thoughts and you change your world” is a quote attributed to Norman Vincent Peale via his book The Power of Positive Thinking, written in the 1950’s, and the first to take the idea of positive thinking mainstream, albeit in a humble way.
Who said change your thoughts change your life?
This is a direct quote of the book title written by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer .
The book is called (you guessed it) “Change your thoughts, Change your life“.
I haven’t read it myself but it’s based on, or a translation of, the 81 verses written by a man called Lao-tzu in ancient China, 500 years before the birth of Christ.
Conclusion
I hope I have proven to you the power of positive thinking, and how the simple act of changing your thinking from negative thoughts to positive thoughts really can change your world in a profound way.
We really are our thoughts.
The world is a reflection of our thoughts.
Change your thoughts and you change your world.
And when you do that, you not only make your own life better, but you will also help to improve the lives of everyone around you and everyone you love.
By changing your thoughts, you not only help to create and shape your own future, but you also help to make the world a better place for other people.
I don’t know about you, but I consider that a great power to have.
