{ The Twelve Promises: An Excerpt }
“The Power of a Promise is the ability to live in the moment and seize all the opportunities that life puts in your path.”
The human mind is, no doubt, capable of remarkable things. In large part this is due to the power of imagination and the inability of the subconscious mind to differentiate between what is real and what we have made up. We can use this power to help us or hinder us. We can choose to dwell on the disappointments in our life (replaying them over and over like a never-ending horror movie), or we can make a promise to ourselves to create our own “highlights reel” of the positive experiences we’ve had and make them the main feature in our head.
Promise to Focus on the Positive
To change your life you have to change the messages in you!
Changing the messages that play in our head is an important part of changing our focus. Often, we aren’t even aware of how negative and limiting those messages are. If you want to go somewhere, tell yourself you belong there. If you want to accomplish something, tell yourself you are capable. If you want to move forward in your life, turn that negative voice into a positive one.
We all have struggles. We all have difficulty staying focused on what is truly important in our lives. What we do during those times of struggle, how we face up to our difficulties, and whether or not we are able to refocus on our priorities is what determines our ultimate success in life. One of the biggest challenges I faced in my own life was illiteracy. Little did I know that, in finding a way to overcome my problem, I would discover a valuable tool I could use to tackle all of the other challenges that I would encounter.
Discover the Power of a Promise today!
In response to what was truly one of the most frustrating moments in my life, I made a promise to myself to flip the coin and begin each day by finding at least one positive thought to focus on. I soon discovered that changing the way I started my morning had a powerful effect on my attitude and on how the rest of my day went. I also discovered that by choosing to focus on something positive, I was also choosing not to focus on the negative thoughts that had been filling my head to that point. With a clearer head and a more positive outlook, I began to make progress on my goal of learning to read and write. Suddenly, I was off the bench and in the game. I had discovered the Power of a Promise.
Don’t discount the importance of programming!
Isn’t it odd how, when faced with a challenge, our human nature tends to kick in, causing us to fall back on our programming—what we’ve been taught or whatever is most familiar to us. That’s why it’s critically important to get our programming right to make sure that we default to positive, healthy habits.
It’s far more common for us to remember our past failures and the negative things that people have said and done than it is to recall the positive ones. That’s why it’s important that we make a conscious choice to seek out those positive experiences and make a point to give them more play time in our mind—even if there’s only one or two to start with.
Begin to make promises to yourself!
“The Power of a Promise is the ability to live in the moment and seize all the opportunities that life puts in your path.”
The human mind is, no doubt, capable of remarkable things. In large part this is due to the power of imagination and the inability of the subconscious mind to differentiate between what is real and what we have made up. We can use this power to help us or hinder us. We can choose to dwell on the disappointments in our life (replaying them over and over like a never-ending horror movie), or we can make a promise to ourselves to create our own “highlights reel” of the positive experiences we’ve had and make them the main feature in our head.
Promise to LEARN: Live Every Aspect of Your Life Right Now
We all have the pieces to our own puzzles!
Life is like a puzzle, I believe, and every one of us is born with all the pieces of our own puzzle intact. Unfortunately, the process of living can scramble the pieces and cause us to become confused. Our task then is to put the pieces back together in a way that makes sense to us. While each event in our life represents another part of the puzzle, it is up to us to determine the significance of specific events and how they fit together with other pieces. We ask ourselves about the puzzle pieces: Will they be the focus of the picture or just part of the background? The meaning that we attach to each event, each piece, is dependent on what kind of picture we want to create. Living Every Aspect of our life Right Now (LEARN) helps us to figure out how those pieces fit together.
Are you ready to LEARN?
Many of us spend a great deal of time and energy thinking about past problems and worrying about future concerns, not realizing that in doing so the present is passing us by. While we’re busy agonizing about things we can’t change, we’re missing out on the opportunity to make the most of every moment and LEARN.
How do we get ready to LEARN? The first step is to practice living in the moment—being present, engaged, and ready to respond to whatever is going on around us right now. Rather than worrying about missed chances or past mistakes, make the most of the relationships and opportunities right in front of you. Instead of worrying about what could happen in the future, make a plan for what you want and start taking steps to make it happen right now. Living every aspect of your life right now helps you figure out how the pieces of your puzzle fit together.
Being ready to LEARN applies to everyone:
- If you want to be the boss your employees need you to be, it applies.
- If you want to be the doctor your patients need you to be, it applies.
- If you want to be the teacher your students need you to be, it applies.
- If you want to be the partner your spouse needs you to be, it applies.
When we focus on what’s important, we’re ready to LEARN!
Use your passion to LEARN!
Some people accept their lot in life! Lack of motivation or enthusiasm is something that keeps a lot of people from doing things that would make their lives richer and happier. An important part of being ready to LEARN is not just accepting the way things are if they aren’t working for you. If you don’t like the way your life is going, don’t settle. Scramble the pieces and continue to look for a better way to fit them together. It’s never too late to flip the coin and try something new. It’s never too late to learn a few new tricks. LEARN from the people you encounter! We can learn a lot from the people we meet if we pay attention. Make the most of your time, LEARN to engage!