The Supreme Power of Your Thoughts – Part 1
Have you ever wondered why some people, who live in the best neighborhoods, drive the nicest cars, and have beautiful spouses, are often unhappy?
Conversely, have you ever met someone who lives in a horrible neighborhood, has a clunker car, and has a perfectly average-looking spouse, who is happier than most people you know?
What is behind these two seemingly illogical states of being that the people described above are in? It all comes down to how they think about things or, more specifically, how they process the things going on in their lives.
I often tell my clients, “The happiest people I know are not the ones who have the most, but rather the ones who need the least.”
Let’s think about that for a moment… Science has shown that people who make 150K a year and hang out with people that make 75K a year are much happier than people who make 150K a year but hang out with people who make 300K a year.
When you make 150K and all of your friends make half that, you think you are doing pretty well and feel fortunate. But if you make 150K and hang out with people who make twice as much as you, there’s a high likelihood that you will feel less than good enough.
Let’s break that down even further. Imagine that you drive a Porsche but your deepest desire is to drive a Lambo. You probably don’t think you will be happy until you get that Lambo (ironically, you probably thought the same thing about the Porsche you are driving before you got it too). Meanwhile, I look at what car I drive as a way to get from point A to point B and not as a measure of my self-worth. I drive a Honda and it’s more than adequate for my needs, so I am thrilled.
Despite the messages that media beats into our heads, the fact remains that things can give you pleasure, but they cannot ever make you happy. The only thing you need to be happy is the ability to process your thoughts in an objective way.
Contrary to popular belief, it’s not what does or does not happen to you that determines how happy you can be, it’s how you think about whatever does or does not happen. As the late Art Linkletter used to say, “Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
As I tell my clients, you can either learn to control the way you think or let the way you think control you.
You can follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc
