Think Your Way to Success

By David Hughes

“A man is but the product of his thoughts, what he thinks, he becomes.” – Mahatma Gandhi

 So another day begins with the buzzing of the alarm clock. Shower, coffee, some toast and out the door in 20 minutes. It takes me another 20 minutes to drive to work and begin another work day. As my work day progresses my mind wanders to what I call “if only” land, or sometimes my mind wanders to “what if” land. I cruise through my day on auto-pilot and then begin my drive home. Tonight is my Tai Chi class and this fills me with a sense of anticipation. My Tai Chi class is my sanctuary, a place to block out the noises of daily life and just focus on the moment. What if my entire day could be filled with that kind of satisfaction, anticipation and focus? Oops, there I go again, wandering off to “what if” land.

Well, what if? What if a day could be filled with satisfaction, focus, and fulfilling my dreams. Is it possible? I have discovered the answer to this question – YES. And do you want to know something else, I have discovered the how. Now prepare yourself … are you sitting down? This next revelation may shock you, probably because of its simplicity.

Tomorrow morning, set the alarm for 30 minutes earlier. What to do with that extra time? Think. Before you begin each day, take the time to think. Not pray, not meditate … just think. There is nothing wrong with the disciplines of prayer and meditation, but for our purposes here thinking will have more value.

So what is it you should be thinking about? Well, I’m glad you asked. Here are a few suggestions: How can I make this day the first step to my best life? How can I make this day the start towards fulfilling my dreams and goals? Starting your day in this way will provide focus on what needs to be done. You know the old saying – “There is nothing worse than reaching the top of a mountain, only to find you climbed the wrong one.” Or how about – “there is nothing worse than being busy doing that which does not need to be done.”

There are only so many hours in the day and so many days in a life. Let’s not get busy doing that which does not need to be done and busy ourselves with those things which will lead us to our best life.  Your days are your life in miniature, so make every day the best it can be. Living your days as you wish to live your life will ultimately lead you to a great life, and it all begins by spending time thinking “How can I make this day great? How can I use every possible moment to create a great life?”

Robin Sharma, in his book The Greatness Guide, wrote: “Thinking leads to better awareness, better awareness leads to better decisions and better decisions lead to better results.” Optimum results can only come from correct action. Taking the time to think about possible contacts, relationships, dreams and goals will give you a heightened awareness when the universe offers an opportunity, seeing the opportunity with your eyes wide open. Taking the time to think before beginning each day will provide guidance, clarity, focus, direction and awareness. This discipline alone may be the single greatest practice you implement in your life, while at the same time the easiest.

“Know your priorities. Know your goals. Know what needs to get done over the coming weeks, months and years for you to feel that you played your best game as a human being.” – Robin Sharma

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