Many people are living the definition of insanity, doing something that hasn’t yielded success over and over, but expecting different results. To yield the results we seek we must discipline our thoughts to overcome ourselves and move past where we are to get to the place we desire to be. If we believe something is missing in our lives, the first thing we must do is change our way of thinking and take the appropriate action to make that which is missing a reality in our lives. To accomplish this we must discipline our thoughts and realize that it’s bigger than the money, it takes more than filling in the spaces on a budget sheet to change your financial life, but before I continue let me clarify something. But who really likes discipline anyway? Without disciplined thoughts there is a huge disconnect that usually moves us further away from achieving any financial success we desire. This is usually because our desires are no more than wants without a plan of action, the will to achieve them or we lack the motivation to implement them in our lives.
If we truly want to change our financial lives, we must first change our minds. It sounds easy enough, but if you’ve ever tried to do this you realize that it can be one of the most difficult things you’ve ever done. With that being said although it’s difficult, it’s not impossible and believe me it’s worth it. Change isn’t something that happens overnight, with little to no effort. You didn’t create or get into the situation you’re in currently overnight. Many feel frustrated when they attempt to change something in their lives, whether it’s a weight issue, an attitude or a habit. Patience is a key ingredient to effective change along with persistence and repetition.
Research has proven that it takes approximately 21 days to create or eliminate habits, change a mindset, or behavior. The brain is a living organism that is able to grow, change and improve. The repetition of action or activity allows our brain to establish patterns that ultimately become routine. We often feel we have limitations on what we can accomplish, but the reality is we are only limited by our thoughts and what we allow ourselves to think about. We all have been given the ability to explore limitless possibilities but often times, we can’t see the ultimate because we are enslaved to the immediate. We don’t allow our minds to further explore what could be possible because we only see what is temporary. After consulting and coaching over a thousand people build strong financial futures, I quickly realized critical thinking was missing in the lives of my most challenging cases. Our thought lives are bleak, and many of us don’t know what to think about because we were never properly educated on the ways to build and grow our financial lives correctly.
The Harvard School of Divinity didn’t focus much on doctrine, but instead on the Discipline of Thought. This idea stuck with me for days as I thought about the universal message that Pastors, Priests, Bishops, Reverends and clergy of all faiths communicate to their respective congregations. They teach people how to change their lives by following principles that have been proven to be right within their respective teachings. For the most part spiritual leaders are dealing with broken people who have experienced heartache, challenges, misfortune, and loss. They have come to a place of worship to be fixed. Then it hit me. Where do people go when they experience feelings of despair regarding their financial goals and dreams? Sure we can take it to the alter, but once we pray about it, what’s next? I’ve often heard it said, “Faith without works is dead.,” but I must add that thoughts without discipline and action are dead or stagnant at best.
