Five Great Thoughts That Can Change Your Life

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by Jayaram V

Your life is shaped by what you think and believe. Numerous thoughts arise and subside in your mind during the day. You may not pay attention to them or remember them clearly. However, upon observation you will realize that your thoughts are shaped mostly by a few dominant desires, expectations, fears and worries.

In other words, a few ideas, beliefs and thoughts keep your mind churning. You can use this knowledge to your advantage by consciously choosing and remembering a few thoughts or ideas that can potentially transform your thinking, behavior and attitude for good. For example, you can frequently remember the following five great thoughts or ideas during the day and keep them uppermost in your mind to bring a fundamental change in your thinking and attitude. If you practice it, overtime they become integrated into your consciousness and become the guiding factors of your life.

1. You do not live forever

It is important to remember this truth occasionally because many people do not think about it at all and live as if time does not matter. You can see the effect all around in how people spend their time in frivolous activities, and waste many precious opportunities to improve themselves or live better. Do you enjoy life? Do you take time out to focus on the world around you? Are you married to your job, or some cause, that prevents you from spending time with your near and dear? There are many ways in which people fill their lives with meaningless activities and let their lives roll by.

You have a unique opportunity to be alive and conscious in a vast universe, surrounded by the richness and diversity of the world's innumerable forms. It is an opportunity that lasts for a short time and never will repeat again. Even if you are going to take another birth, it will not be the same. Therefore, live your life fully, and use every opportunity to be alive and happy. Find your purpose, set up a few important goals, choose your priorities, and live with the gratitude of being born as a human, and being active, alive and conscious.

2. Things change

The world in which we live is impermanent. You know that neither you nor your behavior nor your possessions last forever. Death and destruction are encoded in the structure of the universe, while we live in a sea of impermanence, amidst innumerable objects that are in a constant flux. It is a great source of misery as we are caught in the duality of attraction and aversion. While it is true that our existence is finite and transient, on the positive side you may consider it a blessing because it gives you a great opportunity to improve things and situations according to your needs and expectations. Imagine how the world would be if everything is frozen in time, with no scope for change or improvement.

Would you like to be caught in such a world? People are bored even when there is so much impermanence around them. Imagine how boring it would be, if nothing changes, and if you are condemned forever to the circumstances in which you were originally born! Fortunately, the world gives you immense opportunities to experience life differently and to be a different person if you want to. Many people are afraid of change, because they cannot trust themselves and do not like to stay out of their comfort zones. They resist change because they are afraid of the risks and problems that arise from it. Hence, they try to secure their lives against impermanence by building walls of defense. While it may give them the illusion of security, it also makes them prisoners of their fears. The best way to deal with impermanence is to face it and accept it boldly as an integral part of your life and plan your life accordingly, without being reckless or negligent. Use the opportunities change offers, with courage, detachment, equanimity and sameness to improve your life and destiny.

3. Manifest your uniqueness

We marvel at the uniqueness of a product or a gadget, but we do not realize or appreciate how unique we are. We are the unique creations of Nature, born with a huge potential to make a difference in the world in our own unique ways. Each of us sets in motion a chain of events that will have far reaching consequences for our civilization. Each of us will be the starting point for several generations of new people who will descend from us or who will be benefited by our actions. The markets tell you that if you have a unique product or service, it will sell, but is there anything that is as unique as you? Your uniqueness is your wealth. There is none like you and none can think, act, or live like you. Even if you are largely conditioned by society, you are still unique. You can use your uniqueness to your advantage and manifest it in your thinking, problem solving, and actions in creative ways to stand apart in a sea of humanity and prove your worth. Therefore, before believing in anything or following anyone, remember that you have a mind and a will of your own and you are not under any compulsion to accept anything meekly or follow anyone blindly. You can manifest your uniqueness and freedom by knowing yourself, finding your unique strengths and talents, expressing your individuality, speaking for yourself, and cultivating an inner sense of detachment, courage and confidence. Knowing that you are unique and frequently remembering it, you can learn to be yourself and stand for yourself.

4. Excel in whatever you do

You do not have to be perfect all the time, but you should try to achieve perfection and excellence in whatever you do. The task may be anything, but you must do it as sincerely and perfectly as you can to feel good about yourself, and achieve success and prosperity. Discipline, knowledge, skills, respect for rules, commitment quality, and genuine love contribute to excellence in any field. The road to excellence is never ending. It is a continuous journey in which you move from one level of perfection to another. Hence, focus upon your goals and tasks and give your best, without worrying about results. At some stage, your effort will bear fruit. To excel in any field, you must set standards of performance, learn from your peers, question your assumptions, challenge your ideas and solutions, and do not settle for less. Put your one hundred percent in whatever you do, with detachment and sense of duty, but without being vain, anxious, or proud.

5. Stretch the silence between two thoughts

There is too much noise in our lives. As our civilization progresses, we create more noise and distractions. The mobile phones make sure that you cannot have quiet time for yourself. All this puts a lot of strain upon us. We may not be aware, but the noise puts a dent upon our ability to think clearly, stay in control, and remain healthy and happy, making the need for peace even more important and urgent. At the end of the day, despite your problems and pressures, you must be able to sleep well. If you can sleep well, it is a sign that you are in control. There are many techniques which you can use to calm your mind and experience peace even in busy surroundings. One of the ways to do it is to consciously prolong the silence between your two thoughts, so that you can stop your mental chatter and experience temporary respite. It can be done as part of your meditation, or wherever you are and whenever you want to. The mind can only think about one thought at a time. Therefore, before you move from one thought to another, stop there and prolong the silence between the two thoughts. As you take deep breaths, do not consciously let any new thought enter your mind as long as you can. As the time lapse between two thoughts increases, you gain gradual control over your mind and your thoughts.