Negative thinking will only make it worst

Negative thinking

   For many years I have been an avid collector of self improvement books. I love to read them and I enjoy them. But there is no book which has yet brought me close to what I am looking for in those books since years. I was looking in the wrong place of course. I was looking for the key outside when it was within me all along. There is nothing wrong with self help books, they can help you, motivate you, challenge you, but they will never change what's inside of you.
   What changes you is the realization that your mind is under your control and not under the control of any books or advise from advisers. I have figured in the past 21 years of my life span, that I only ask for advise when I want to hear what I think is right. If someone advises me to do the opposite, I won't be satisfied with that advise. This will take time, but everyone will realize this sooner or later.
    In our busy modern day lives, first thing here is that everyone wants to be successful. Well, the definition of " being successful" might change from person to person. Someone wants to be a successful wife, someone wants to be a successful industrialist and the someone like me wants to be the best at everything. We think that we are super heroes, we can achieve everything we want, so we force ourselves to the extremes.
    Getting to this level of success, we lose some important "happy moments". These moments are the one's we won't be able to find if we don't dig for them. It's like gold; to find it, one needs to work really hard. But when one finds it in the mine, they will find unlimited amounts, at least enough for one lifetime. I won't really stress on how to dig through it because if you figure that yourself, it will be a gift to you, from you.
   I would surely like to share the key/hint with you though. What we focus our attention on, grows; and it becomes an important part of our journey called LIFE. Many, perhaps most of us choose to focus on the negative things in life and the negative side of every decisions. We complain about the missed opportunities and the mistakes that we made in the past. But please note, past doesn't stand in the way of future unless you really want it to. When we compare ourselves with people better than us, negative thoughts arise, these thoughts grow and make a house in our minds. THIS IS WHAT YOU DON'T WANT. You need to love yourself and not compare. Remember, if you don't love yourself, no one will.
     One of the great books that I read called 'Awareness' by Anthony de Mello, taught me that simply being aware of the negative thoughts will help you drop it. Thinking positive is not hard at all. Be vigilant and be diligent, when you spot a negative thought, just drop it. Don't wait. Just drop.

  As a kid, I was told a story at school. I would like to share it with you. At least one time in the entire day, god says "granted" and at that moment what ever is on your mind will come true. Let's say for example, right now you are reading this and thinking that, "I wish I was more positive", if god says granted then your wish will be granted. But let's say if you are thinking that, "Why am I so negative? I will never be happy", if god says granted, you will never actually be happy. Some of you might point out that how do I know all this? Well, I will say that this might not totally work. But this was the goal behind it, a couple of years after I started practicing being positive, I didn't have to try at all. Now, I never think of God being able to grant my wishes. I know that because I am positive and I don't fear failure, SUCCESS IS NOT TOO FAR. Life is good. And always remember, family comes first. Everything else second.

It's all about maintaining the right mental attitude and knowing how to control your own mind. Think of it in a way that when it's possible to be at peace and happy and relaxed in every situation, why waste another minute on negative thoughts?

 Love. Peace ~ Shaili