Self Help 101: How to Change your LIFE in the next 15 minutes
RAHUL BADAMI
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION:
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SECTION ONE: Thoughts that strengthen Belief |
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SECTION TWO: Actions that strengthen Belief |
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BONUS SECTION: |
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INTRODUCTION:
SELF-BELIEF ALLOWS YOU TO PREDICT THE FUTURE
When I first thought of writing a book on Self Belief my inner self asked me, "Are you the right person to talk about Self Belief?"
I thought about it. I am just an ordinary person. I have had many situations in my life where I questioned my abilities, and whether I was doing the right thing. My belief in myself cannot be called perfect. I am not there yet. So why will anyone read my book?
Then I decided it doesn't matter if no one reads my book. I will write this book for my own self. To inspire myself. To tell myself what I need to do to steel my belief. And if others read it, I would be happy when they find value in my strategies to change their lives.
I didn't question myself any further and started to take action on writing this book. And this is what self belief is actually about. Using right thoughts and productive actions to predict the future.
If I see myself completing this book, and then going back to this chapter to re-read it, it will tell me that my vision of publishing this book is manifested.
How can you change your life?
It all starts with belief. Belief is an intangible emotion that determines the course of everyones life. The only way to measure belief is by evaluating the quality of your life. If you want to improve the quality of your life, you have to increase your self belief.
My experience has shown me that the only way we change our belief is through our thoughts and actions.
The relation between Thoughts, Actions and Self Belief can be expressed in two statements. One statement will keep you where you are. The other will unleash the power inside of you.
The first statement is: Our beliefs direct our thoughts and actions.
Would you agree that its true?
Consider a boy thinking of asking a girl out for prom. What if he believes she wouldn't be interested in him, and would get bored of his company? The boy would not take the action of asking her out. And because the action wasn't taken, the belief would be reinforced. And the cycle will continue.
LESS BELIEF > LIMITING THOUGHTS > MINIMAL OR NO ACTION > LESS BELIEF
Is there a way out? Yes, of course.
Surprisingly, the reverse holds true as well. Our thoughts and actions direct our belief.
EMPOWERING THOUGHTS > MASSIVE ACTION > STRONGER BELIEF > EMPOWERING THOUGHTS
The first statement doesn't give us much control over our beliefs. But we can use the second statement to change our beliefs and get what we want. The biggest secret of successful people is that even if they don't know everything, they still charge ahead towards their goals.
You dont have to get it right; you just have to get started.
So lets get started. I have purposefully kept this book short and to the point. Your time is important. I don't want to overwhelm you with a dozen strategies over hundreds of pages. Nor do I want to beat around the bush with ineffective filler type paragraphs, when effective & succinct information can be provided in a few concise words.
While we are on the topic of conciseness, this book can be described in just one sentence: How to use productive thoughts and productive actions, to strengthen our belief system?
To answer that question, this book is divided into two sections. The first section talks about how our thoughts shape our belief, and how we can use the right thoughts to build a productive belief system. The second section is about taking action towards our dreams, and using those actions to strengthen our beliefs about our dreams.
(Side Note: As you can see from the second statement, Empowering Thoughts initiate the process of increasing your self-belief. I have found that listening to Affirmations is a simple yet powerful way to empower your thoughts. After searching (in vain) for an Affirmations audio that could be a good complement to this book, I decided to create one myself. You can download the Affirmations MP3 for free at http://FreePositiveAffirmations.com )
SECTION ONE:
THOUGHTS THATS STRENGHTEN BELIEF
WE THINK ONLY TWICE IN A YEAR
Few people think more than two or three times a year. I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week.
Do you know who spoke these interesting words?
It was George Bernard Shaw. Had he gone bonkers when he disclosed his thinking habits? Is it really possible that one of the greatest thinkers of yesteryears thought only once a week? From my personal experience I would say yes.
Preposterous?
Not so. Mr. Shaw is actually right.
There was a time some years back when I used to consider myself a thinker. I used to spend significant amounts of time dwelling on my life and my future. Today I realize that what I was actually doing was replaying a couple of original thoughts again and again. It couldn't be called sustained creative thinking.
In fact we rarely think. Whatever thought processes that happen in our minds on a daily basis are simply repeated commands. Our routine habits are so entrenched that we barely register brushing our teeth, eating or even driving our car.
Would you think the work you do at your job or business requires you to think? The surprising answer is no.
Even though your work requires complex thought process, once you have been in the same role for more than 3 months, the decision making is repetitive rather than creative. The only time people think at work is during the first few days of a new job, or if there have been an unprecedented turn of events that force you to change your normal work habits.
So what has your thinking got to do with belief? First, our beliefs are the reason we are at our current place in the journey of life. Positive beliefs, positive journey. Negative or neutral beliefs, mediocre journey.
How do we get back in the habit of sustained creative thinking? It can be done by making a conscious effort to allocate 15-30 minutes daily to ask profoundly thoughtful questions of ourselves. This can be done either the first thing in the day or the last one at night. For now, don't worry about the questions that you should ask yourself. I will provide a list of questions in a later chapter to jumpstart your creativity.
THINKING IS PRAYING
I am an agnostic. While I don't believe in everything that religion tells us about God, I believe that there is a Power that permeates through the universe. This Universal Power works within us, and through us. We can make this Universal Power our closest friend and ally.
The ancients used to tell us the power of prayer. Unfortunately, the true meaning of prayer has been lost in translation over the centuries.
Until now.
Most people don't realize that every moment in their life, they are praying. And the Universal Power is giving them exactly what they are praying for.
How is that possible?
It is through the power of thoughts. When you are thinking, you are praying. Your thoughts, whether conscious or unconscious, will be received as a prayer to the Universal Power, who will make it work exactly like you wish for. Your quality of life is in direct proportion to the quality of your thoughts.