We don’t see things the way they are, we see them the way we are – Anais Nin It is never too late to give up your prejudices - Henry David Thoreau

This is such a profound truth! The power of transformation, a better society and a better life is not external to us, but is in our minds. It is also in a way disturbing because if our thoughts about people, work and life in general are mostly negative, it is because we are mostly negative. We live with a negative attitude and outlook. Once we accept the statement by Anais Nin as true, and we keep it in mind, it suddenly becomes a lot more difficult to join the ‘they’ choir. Those who are used to singing the ‘they’ song fill their thoughts with all the reasons why other people are responsible for what is bad in society. They get used to judge people and they constantly feed their negative views with more and more examples. Let’s be honest, we all fall into this trap from time to time. It is a trap because we unknowingly impede our own development and growth. Instead of focusing on things we can do we focus on things others should do.

While disappointment is human and an acceptable emotion, the thought of judgment we tend to couple with the emotion obscures our view of what a constructive response could be: for example to encourage or offer support.

So, I offer you and those you can influence with it, the following as food for positive thought:

• Our happiness has nothing to do with what we have achieved, what we have acquired, where we are, or where we are going. It has everything to do with the thoughts we feed our mind. Can we be happy and suffer at the same time? I believe so. Not by trying to be superficial or super human. But if we choose to see our blessings and put our trust in God for what we cannot control, we can find contentment and happiness (at a deeper level) even in times of distress or pain. Point is, our thoughts can remain positive.

• Remember that you are what you think! If you radically change your thoughts for the better, you will radically change your life for the better. The situations and material conditions you attract in life are a result of the thoughts you harbour. Choose to think only positive thoughts and in so doing promote a positive state of mind. Choose also to banish negative thoughts and states of fear, depression and worry, which can only limit your life.

• Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the power of thoughts can transform and enrich all lives. Just think about the change you experience when a positive person is in your presence. In the same way you can change other people’s emotions by bringing your positive thoughts, attitude and body language to their presence.

• You must believe that there are no limits to your potential other than those you set for yourself. Believe in yourself and you will astound yourself with your capabilities. If you believe you can, you are correct. If you believe you can’t, you are correct. It is a fact that you become like the person you think and believe you are. Remember, “Sooner or later the man that wins is the man that thinks he can.”

• Rediscover the child within you. That child who knows no fear, no worries, no limitations, and has a healthy appetite for life and the challenges it has to offer.

• You must realise that there is only one way to make the best of the future, and that is to put the past behind you – make the best of today. Don’t wait for age, a stage in your life, or a dream to come true to really live – live now and enjoy this moment, this hour, and every day of your life. ‘Today’ will never dawn again. ‘Today’ is a precious gift that can slip away with alarming speed. Wasted, it will eat a chunk out of your life, but lived well, it will fulfill your life and make it whole.

• Know what you want from life. Know what you want to put back into life. Develop your vision for your life and set the goals to achieve that vision. Successful goal setting will help you to design a life of which you have always dreamed. Goal setting programmes can only show you how – the rest is up to you!

A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must and will bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seed will fall therein and will continue to produce its kind - James Lane Allen.

‘They’ – that’s the good use of ‘they’ – say that internal misjudgements are six times more likely to cause business failure than external factors. Focusing on and investing in the development of our minds seems therefore the obvious thing to do. Yet, sadly we tend to value only what we see as tangible and pay the price for poor attitudes and negative or low quality thoughts.

I wish you a month full of positive thoughts and developments. If you think it’s time for us to meet again, please let me know.

Best wishes