Swami Mukundananda - 7 Mindsets for Success, Happiness and Fulfilment

7 Mindsets for Success, Happiness and Fulfilment Swami Mukundananda, an alumnus of IIT and IIM, is a world-renowned spiritual teacher. He has dedicated his life to guiding millions worldwide on the path of happiness and fulfilment. His unique and profound approach to self-improvement blends scientific theories and perfect logic with his decades-long mastery of Vedic scriptures. As an expert on mind management and yogic sciences, he teaches many powerful yet simple techniques for life transformation. He lectures seven days a week, conducting seminars, workshops and retreats all over the world, including at Fortune 500 corporations and Ivy League universities.

First published by Westland Publications Private Limited in 2019

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Copyright Radha Govind Dham, 2019

ISBN: 9789388754392

The views and opinions expressed in this work are the authors own and the facts are as reported by them, and the publisher is in no way liable for the same.

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No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

This book is dedicated to Jagadguru Shree Kripalu-ji Maharaj, who munificently taught me theperennial Vedic knowledge, and inspired me to consecrate my life to the dissemination of divinewisdom, for the benefit of humankind.

Contents

CHAPTER 1 THE MINDSET OF POSITIVE THINKING

CHAPTER 2 THE MINDSET OF TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR EMOTIONS

CHAPTER 4 THE MINDSET OF PURITY OF INTENTION

CHAPTER 5 THE MINDSET OF CULTIVATING KNOWLEDGE

CHAPTER 7 THE MINDSET OF GROWING IN THE FACE OF PROBLEMS

SUMMARY

GLOSSARY

Lets Connect

Other Books by the Author

What is the essential ingredient for a successful life? What is the one thing that can bestow upon us professional excellence, good health, familial comfort and inner joy?

That one thing is not money, for we find so many wealthy people who are unproductive, unhealthy and miserable. It is not powerful connections either, because even children of well-connected people sometimes end up as irresponsible derelicts or wayward vagrants. Nor is it high IQ, for many intellectuals are both emotionally fragile and socially obtuse. All these assets and qualities can undoubtedly prove helpful for success, but without that one essential ingredient, it cannot be guaranteed.

The biggest key to accomplishment, happiness and fulfilment is mastery over our emotions. As the saying goes, Attitude leads to altitude. Those who are expert in marshalling their sentiments are catapulted to success in their field of work, despite overwhelming odds.

Since they possess the ability to choose their thoughts, they fill themselves with faith and inspiration and apply themselves to their tasks with joy. They are resilient and determined, even while facing enormous challenges. Thus, they rise head and shoulders above their brethren, with astonishing accomplishments and heroic qualities of head and heart. Some may say these people just got lucky, but it was really their superior attitude in all situations that made all the difference.

In contrast, there are people who keep getting entangled in the cobwebs of their thoughts.

They waste precious time and energy revisiting sentiments of anxiety, gloom and resentment.

Such negative feelings rob them of health, make them unpopular among friends and ineffective at work. Consequently, their own mind becomes their worst enemy. Often, they do not even realise that their gloomy thoughts are the primary cause of their frustrations. And when they do become aware of their flawed thinking, they do not know how to subdue the despair that keeps cropping up in their mind. They may claim that Lady Luck never shone upon them, but, in reality, it was their ineptness at managing their emotions that tripped them on the journey of life.

To improve our attitudes, we require:

1) Knowledge of the sentiments, emotions and feelings that help or harm us.

2) The ability to react positively to the circumstances in our life, the people we interact with and the work we do.

3) To make the desirable attitudes a second nature to us, so they arise subconsciously, without effort.

The attitudes we harbour habitually within ourselves become our mindsets. They are our customary ways of thinking, which have become an integral part of our personality. They can be compared to physical habits we create by repeating physical behaviours again and again until they begin to happen automatically. Similarly, mindsets are mental habits we establish internally, by practising particular attitudes repeatedly, until they come naturally to us. These mindsets can either work in our favour by flooding our consciousness with positivity or against us by plunging our mind into negativity.

Fortunately for us, harmful mindsets can be replaced by productive ones, without any prerequisite for external situations or resources. All we need to do is to change the way we think and feel. The beauty of the power of mindset is that it is an internal resource we all possess. If we can train our mind and intellect, their immense potential will get unlocked. Then, because of our advantageous mindset, we will naturally think productively in every situation.

When we study the lives of successful personalities, we discover a commonality in their outstanding mindsets. Consider, for example, the inspiring story of Thomas Edison.

When Thomas Edison was a five-year-old, his teacher called his mother and said, Takeyour little Tommy away. He is too dull to study. His mother responded, My little Tommy is notstupid. I will teach him. After that, Thomas had no further schooling, and he was home-schooledby his mother. Later, as an impoverished youth, he earned a living by selling candy on trains. Hehad begun losing his hearing as a child due to scarlet fever. The problem was furtherexacerbated when a train conductor hit him on his ear, making him partially deaf.

Edison had once saved the life of a three-year-old child, whose father was so grateful thathe helped Thomas become a telegraph operator. That was the turning point for Edison, and fromthere, he launched his career as an inventor. He went on to become the greatest inventor inAmerican history. In his lifetime, he held 1,093 US patents in his name. More significant than thenumber of patents was the tremendous impact his inventions have had in improving the quality oflife for the entire humankind.

It is said that while working on inventing the electric bulb, Thomas Edison constantlyfailed before succeeding in his four-thousandth attempt. After he had failed for the 3,999th time,a journalist asked him, Mr Edison, are you not disappointed that you have repeatedly failed in