How to Enjoy Mental Liberation
Don Loyd
We who share the front line of sales and marketing know the sometimes difficult prospect of facing another day of rejection. But, as the saying goes – “No Pain, No Gain” – so we buck up and move forward.
Oftentimes, putting one step ahead of the other can be a painful exercise. It can be a struggle, too. The end result is, we can limit ourselves by embracing a negative mindset.
In my experience, there is at least one observation worth mentioning: Regardless of your own personal disillusionment, frustration or mistreatment, you have the ability to break free and soar with eagles. You “have the key.”
No! You are the key.
All too often, thoughts passing through your mind are accepted without judgment or attention given to the final result of that thinking. But there are always consequences, good or bad, in what you think.
Most people are not aware that they are thinking – it’s an automated routine. But your mind is like a sponge that will take in whatever you invite in. If you allow your mind to behave without constraint, you lose freedom.
“Magic” occurs when you control your thinking and everything that goes through your mind.
For example, you think, “I’m poor and I’ll always be poor.”
That statement is false, but it will have a negative effect on you if you fail to correct it. Most of us in America define “poor” as not having the latest and the greatest HDTV set. By world standards, even those among us with the least, are rich. Poor is when you don’t have a way to provide shelter or something to eat.
When you think you are poor (or ugly, or disadvantaged, or unloved, etc.), control it by restating it in different terms. Say something like this: My desire is to do better and have more or give more. If I will do X, Y, and Z, I will achieve that goal.”
When someone directs hurtful words to you, are they true?
One writer observes:
Most people think and believe that their thoughts originate from them, but have they ever stopped and considered whether their thoughts, desires, likes and dislikes are really theirs? Maybe they have come from the outside, and they have unconsciously accepted them as their own? If there is no filter to process the thoughts that enter the mind, there is no freedom. Then all actions are like the actions of a puppet on a string, though no one will admit it.
Good point!
What follows is a personal story I want you to consider. It’s a story that many can relate to. The result may surprise you and give confidence that you can to have a better life – however you define “better.”
Growing up I was the object of much ridicule and hurtful words. I was mimicked, laughed at, and physically accosted. I had a terrible speech impediment. At times, completing a sentence was impossible.
As a teenager, I decided that those who did and said those things were not in charge of my life and they would not negatively impact it.
In fact, the opposite was true. I literally dreamed of a day when I would drive into town in my new Cadillac Eldorado, THE status symbol of the day, and have the former high school football star pump my gas (although there is nothing wrong with pumping gas for a living).
I actually visualized that scene. I could hear the “ding” when I entered the gas station and ran over the rubber trigger that rang the bell to alert them that I had arrived.
I could feel the texture of the fine leather in my Cadillac.
I could smell the new smell of leather
I visualized the football star running to greet me with, “Fill it up today, Don?”
I used the hurtful things done to me as stepping stones to success.
Why allow outside influences to determine your success or failure? You settle that when you choose to refuse, or reject as truth, words and ideas spouted off toward you by lesser people.
Break free! If you want to be the captain of your ship, you set the rules for what you’ll believe. I turned the negative and potential devastating actions against me into something very positive and profitable. I refused to be a victim. I become very successful at the very thing that was so difficult – speaking!
I believe you can do it, too. You can overcome your hurdle, whatever that might be. I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!
Here’s what I suggest:
1. Sit down with a new yellow pad. That blank tablet in front of you is your future. Notice that there’s no writing on that blank page, which means no one has defined your future for you.
Now, write down what you want to accomplish in the next five years (could be three or four, your choice) in your businesses, spiritual growth, personal life, and personal relationships.
Please dream big, even if it sounds to you too big or too silly. Be specific, too. Rather than stating, “I want to be a millionaire,” do it this way: “By December 20, 2017, I will be enjoying the $1,000,000 I earned.”
Then, create a real heartfelt commitment to it. Without it, you are only hoping.
2. Establish how you will reach your goals. For example, if your goal is financial and you are in widget sales, state, in writing, that you will realize your goal by selling 10,000 widgets.
3. Breakdown your goals into more manageable segments. First, define your five year plan and what you will accomplish in the first year. The yearly goal breaks down into monthly, and then weekly and daily goals.
If you have to sell 10,000 widgets in five years to reach your goal, you may determine that you need to sell 2,000 widgets each year. That equates to about 167 per month, or 38.5 per week.
4. Now, identify the daily activity you will need to do if you are to accomplish your weekly goal of 38.5 widgets. How many prospects must you meet each day? How many phone calls must you make? How many business presentations will have to take place?
Make adjustments as you move forward (a plan is a living document you can change as events and circumstances unfold). You should find that the daily activity and effort needed is a very minor thing in terms of time and effort. The important thing is to do the daily activity.
5. Since we consistently perform within our belief systems (mind set), many times we need to change those. To help you make your goals more attainable, prepare and read affirmations that inspire a new mindset (like: “Of course I sell 2,000 widgets each year. That’s what I do. I actually feel most comfortable and relaxed when I perform at this level).
You will work at the new level of performance because your belief system changes and tells you that it’s “normal” for you to perform there. It is much like the thermostat for your home heating system.
When you set the comfort level in your home for 70 degrees, the furnace automatically turns off at 70 degrees. You are not comfortable at 80 degrees. And your thermostat signals the furnace to turn on again when the temperature falls to your lower comfort level of 60 degrees. You are too chilly at there.
If you want to function at a higher level, raise the comfort zone of your thinking. Change your mental thermostat by accepting a new picture of your new reality.
When you take action and do the daily activities – taking first one baby step, then another step, until you are running a marathon – you can accomplish enormous things and create a new comfort zone. You are only limited by your imagination and mindset.
Mark Twain wrote: “Loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.”
Break the chain of the belief system (Twain’s “petrified opinion”) that keeps you in your current mindset so that you can enjoy the freedom that comes with a new reality.
I want to challenge you into action. Find power in breaking free. I want you to use all the good things you’ve enjoyed, and bad influences you’ve endured, as positive building blocks.
I want you to soar with eagles.
It’s your choice.
