Gratitude, Faith, and Clarity of Purpose - the most powerful statement

This is an article I wrote back in 2004. It is at the very heart of my upcoming book ("The Success Mindset Tripod")

"Things might have been worse"

This is the most powerful, dynamic, revolutionary statement you could ever make in your life.

But first, deciding to take an inventory of your life will lead you to put down in front of you two parts of your life:

1. the good things: positive

2. the bad things: negative

Do you think your life might have been better or worse?

This is a choice for you to make.

But if you put every thing down and carefully examine it, you will realize things certainly might have been worse.

"I was complaining that I had no shoes till I met a man who had no feet." (Confucius)

For example, you have lost your job but you are in good health: you might have lost BOTH health and job.

Now, the mere fact that you are faced with a choice means you are in a dynamic situation, the possibility to decide for yourself, to assert yourself, to test your sense of purpose.

You are FREE to decide. Yes, it is up to you to decide whether things might have been better or worse.

If you decide that things might have been better and things had indeed been better, you wouldn't have felt the need for change: you would have carried on, unconscious and happy (!?)

If your "present" is better than it might have been, then there is no reason why your "future" should not be better than your "present" (please read this sentence again :-).

The only difference is NOW YOU KNOW, and this is what makes your situation so powerful, so dynamic, so revolutionary, so excitingly full of proactivity:

You can decide, you can make choices, set goals and work to achieve your goals.

You are no longer groping in the dark and whatever you decide for yourself will come to pass.

Your future is a heavily pregnant lady and you don’t need an obstetrician, because YOU are the obstetrician - not just any obstetrician, but the most powerful obstetrician that ever was.

All the kids are yours and YOU can decide what they are going to be This is a terribly exciting story, and you are the superhero.

Now is the time to exercise your sense of purpose.

Deciding that things might have been worse means you are ready for three things at least:

1. gratitude: you can be grateful because you see the positive side in all things. You realize there are more positives than negatives, so you don't complain, you don't explain, you are in control, the more so since you now know that your present situation is simply a consequence of your past thoughts;

2. faith: the realization that from now on, things CAN be better and you can decide things ARE GOING to be better. And your future situation is also a consequence of your present thoughts.

3. clarity of purpose: you know exactly what you want things to be.

You are ready for a life-change and you have faith, gratitude and a sense of purpose. These are the 3 legs of your Success Mindset Tripod.

Once you are ready for change, you have gone at least 60% of the way, you can get anything you want.

Attitude is the first thing to change and you have changed your attitude from negative to positive. Clearly affirm your readiness for change.

From now on, anything you do will be informed by your faith, your gratitude, your clarity and unity of purpose.

Meditate a lot to convince yourself that you are on the right track.

This deep conviction will rid you of stress, tension, doubt and fear, your two worse enemies.

Eventually, you will impress everybody, including yourself!

Deep conviction will bring you into agreement with yourself, the only person you really have to agree with, after all. This is what I call "unity of purpose".

And once you agree with yourself, you'll find it much easier to agree with anybody else - contrary to what some people may think.

Now is the time for you to decide what part of your life you want to change, be it making money, losing weight, relationships, or anything else.

Now is the time to set your goals, and take action to achieve them.

But never forget that you have already gone 60% of the way - readiness for life-change, which was obtained through making a balance-sheet of your life and deciding that things might have been worse (past + present) and that things CAN and indeed ARE GOING TO get better (present + future)

And things are truly going to be better than they could ever be, simply because NOW YOU KNOW.

Always remember “things might have been worse” - and be grateful, confident and purposeful.

Then move forward and upward, and build your life with your Success Mindset Tripod!

Lead your life and don't allow yourself to be led by your life.