Everything which man creates begins in the form of a thought impulse. Man can create nothing which he does not first conceive in thought. Through the aid of the imagination, thought impulses may be assembled into plans. The imagination, when under control, may be used for the creation of plans or purposes that lead to success in one’s chosen occupation. ~ Napoleon Hill
Read that over again.
Nothing in the history of man has come to fruition without first being a thought. It’s impossible. The thoughts that dominate our minds are indicative of what we’re going to accomplish, and where we’re going to end up in life.
If negative thoughts pervade our thinking and our notion of what’s possible, nothing we wish to accomplish will ever be realized because we don’t wholeheartedly believe it can be so.
When we set out to achieve a lofty goal, we can do it with two mind frames. One, with only positive emotions. The other, with a negative emotion, or emotions.
With positive emotions we see possibilities and are excited about them. This positivity and excitement makes us work harder and with more passion. We know our success is waiting for us. Our enthusiasm in contagious. People want to help us achieve what we’re working so obsessively to accomplish.
As a result, we get more work done in less time. Our work is of a higher quality. Which leads to more breaks, that some call luck, but history has shown us that luck is created, not received without any merit. We have more energy. We’re happier and more excited about life and about what is to come in life.
By combining these emotions with work ethic and persistence, we’re guaranteeing our success.
The negative emotions that creep into 99.9% of our minds, are disastrous. There’s a reason why men like Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela, and Winston Churchill avoided this method some call ‘realistic thinking‘ like the plague.
Negative emotions, like the 7 most powerful one’s we’ll study today, crush hope. They bring us down. They make us depressed, give us an excuse to take a day off, cheat on a meal, or miss a workout. They allow us to be jealous of another’s success.
The negative emotions that pervade the majority of our minds are more responsible for our lack of success in our training, careers, and in life, than any other factor. They are why we quit. Why we don’t work hard enough.
The more I study the great men in history and the present. And the more time I spend with guys who are living successful lives, the more I see how our thoughts determine where we are in life and what we’re able to achieve. My friends who are very successful see life with no limitations. They’re happy, positive, hard working, and very persistent guys. At every opportunity they reach out to help another.
They aren’t greedy, selfish, fearful, angry, jealous or superstitious.
The unsuccessful are. The difference between each group isn’t talent, luck, or a head start in life. The difference exists in the thoughts that dominate their minds. Do you see why this is one of the more important articles you’re going to read on this site?
If you get anything from the following article, it’s the ability to recognize each emotion in yourself, and the wherewithal to change that thought process to one that will lead to your success, not keep you fat, weak and broke. Ideally this article will lead you to stop attributing the success of others to luck (as I have in the past). And stop waiting for luck, and instead creating your own.
Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time.
Fear
Fear is debilitating. It stops a dream in its tracks – often unconsciously – before it even begins. We’re born with fear. But we also develop fear. Either way, fear isn’t real, it’s nothing but a state of mind that we can control and fight with more positive emotions.
We can control the thoughts in our minds. We can face our fears. But first, we need to understand them. We need to know what fears we have and what fears hold us back.
Our fear of criticism can stop us from speaking what we truly think. It can also lead us to “copy” others. Adopt how they talk, laugh, dress, and act because we’re afraid that who we are is inadequate.
Fear is the crusher of originality, creativity, and of dreams.
How do we beat fear?
With practice. Write your greatest goals down and read them aloud. Write them as if they’re waiting for you. The fact that they’re going to be accomplished is a foregone conclusion. Write down when and how you’re going to accomplish them.
Then persevere until your dreams are your reality. Be aware of your thoughts. Catch yourself when you’re afraid of something, whether it’s the fear of rejection, criticism, or you’re afraid of getting out of what’s comfortable. You’re afraid of risk. It takes honesty to be able to man up and call yourself out when these emotions are influencing how you’re thinking. It takes practice to do so.
Jealousy
Jealousy, like fear, can kill any dream. It can also kill a relationship, and your happiness in life. All of these emotions have this effect. But jealousy will fill your heart with hatred, you psyche with inadequacy, and no matter what you accomplish, you’ll never be satisfied or feel fulfilled.
Jealousy develops from our insecurities. We feel we’re inadequate so we hate others for the success they’ve achieved.
Have you ever looked at a young rich guy, and literally hated him for diminishing all the hard work you’ve done? “He has more than you, and there’s no way he’s worked like you have,: you think to yourself, or you say out load to a friend.
To find your own success, you have to appreciate the success of others. Applaud them for it. Be secure enough in the fact that your success is on its way so appreciate what others have accomplished before you. Also know that you’re a good person with a lot to offer the world. You have no reason to feel inadequate in any way. Know this. Don’t just think it.
Hatred
Hatred and jealousy are closely linked. But hatred can be taken one step further to hating people not for their abundance of success, but for simply being. If you hate, prepare to be hated. Prepare for a short, unhappy life, with a lack of success and no fulfillment.
Revenge
In life we have to learn to let things go. If we’re wronged, it doesn’t mean that we have to return the favor.
There are so many people out there that let life beat them down. They act tough, but that isn’t toughness. A soldier pushes through no matter what the obstacle. He isn’t swayed by trivial things. He isn’t knocked off his path by anyone.
Not a soul should be able to mess with your head. To beat you mentally or physically. Don’t be a pushover, that isn’t the point. But don’t ever aim to “get someone back”. It’s a complete waste of the most valuable commodity we can have in our daily lives: energy.
Energy that could be put towards making more money, being happier, or getting stronger.
So let it go!
Greed
Greed, oddly enough, is a killer of success and obviously happiness. We think greedy people are the one’s that drive around in Ferrari’s, but greed can come in many forms. Greed in your thoughts. Greed in how you divide your time.
If you’re greedy, you’re a taker. People don’t want a taker to succeed. They want him to fail. The more people vested in your success, the better. Any help we can get is welcome.
Superstition
“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” ~Thomas Jefferson
The harder you work, the luckier you will get. To diminish someone’s success – your own included – to that of a lucky break is useless and detrimental not only to yourself, but anything you want to accomplish.
“Lucky breaks” don’t happen to those who believe in luck, chance, or unwarranted fortune. They happen to those who are positive, persistent, and work very, very hard.
Understanding this will lead you to your dream body, life, and career. Don’t wait for a lucky break. Create one.
Anger
Great things do not come to those who are angry. Happiness radiates. It’s magnetic. An angry person isn’t someone you want to root for. It isn’t someone you want to befriend. Anger manifests itself in deteriorated health, unhappiness, and a guarantee for failure.
If you’re an angry person (I was at one point in my life), it’s time to man up. Stop being immature with your emotions, understand your anger, get it under control, and start enjoying life dammit!
Out of all of the emotions in this list, anger is the most easily controlled. We have complete control over whether we’re angry or happy.
Our thoughts are manifested as our reality. Positive emotions rule the minds of the super successful, and positive results are what they see in their lives. Negative emotions rule the minds of the unsuccessful, and negative results are what they see in their lives.
Side note: boxing helped a lot with anger that I had. It took the physical act of fighting, and made it into a chess match, and a match of whits. If you’re an angry guy, head to the boxing gym, take a beating or two, and learn how an angry fighter has no control of his emotions and is usually the one who loses when fighting someone with a clear mind.
YOU DECIDE YOUR FUTURE
Decide what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it. Don’t let the negative emotions manifest themselves as negative results in your training, career, or life.
Your success in any endeavor is more likely than your failure, if you chose for it to be so. You really do have control over your life. And it all starts with how you think.
Note: Much of the content of this article is inspired by Napoleon Hill’s classic, Think and Grow Rich.
