I recently started reading a book called "A Bug Free Mind" (no I don't get paid to advertise another author's book). In the book, the author states that each hour of the day, you should take at least 15 continuous seconds and focus on a happy or positive thought. The key behind this thinking is that at some age when we are kids, we start to have more and more negative thoughts. More and more self-doubt starts to creep in until we really are no longer in control of our minds anymore.
Think back if you can when you were a really young kid. When you told people you wanted to be an astronaut, a policeman, an actress, or a fireman...was there any doubt in your mind at all? You honestly believed at that age you could be whatever you wanted. It isn't until we get older and people (parents, teachers, older siblings) start putting doubts in our head that we start to become negative thinkers. Taking those 15 second breaks is the first step to regaining control over your thought process.
The author of that book also talks about the only way we can really have the life we want is to start getting rid of those negative thoughts. It's quite the coincidence that today during lunch, this guy who normally is pretty shy sat down at our table. Now this guy used to be pretty anti-social and would keep to himself, but he was a regular Chatty Kathy today. See about a year ago when he was at our company, he developed a brain tumor which required surgery and rehab, and he was away from work for about 8 months.
In talking with him, he said that after his surgery he literally lost about 4 years of his memory. He's currently only 26 years old, and he remembers when he was 25 but there is a gap and he doesn't remember much of anything from ages 21-25. He said what's really strange is his fiance said that he's way more outgoing now than he used to be. He said that just sounds crazy because he loves hosting parties, and loves being around people. Myself and a few other co-workers all confirmed that he used to be very anti-social.
So at some point, this person who was very social allowed certain events that happened in his life to turn him into your average, self-doubting, anti-social Nice Guy. It got me thinking, because in high school I was voted Best Personality and I was nowhere near as afraid of failure as I am now. What events happened in my life to turn me into the person I am today?
If someone told you back when you were in high school that your life would be like it is today, would you have believed them? I sure as hell wouldn't have. Some of you may have been voted "Smartest" or "Most Likely to Succeed" back in high school. So what happened in your life to steer you off track? What has happened to make you doubt yourself?
No matter how old you may be, it's never too late to get back on track and live the life you were meant to live.
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