Daily Inspiration 11-7-11

Thought vs Action Controversy Week

"No pains, no gains."

"It is not ease, but effort--not facility, but difficulty,

that makes men. There is, perhaps, no station in life

in which difficulties have not to be encountered and

overcome before any decided measure of success can be achieved."

-- Samuel Smiles

When I see these quotes--and there are thousands more like it--I see a belief that success cannot come without difficulty, much effort, pain and more. And, of course, as we see these quotes and we've heard them since we were little, we think that it must be the case, or it must be true. Then we reluctantly set out to become more by getting through all these barriers and then finally, at some time after the smoke has cleared, maybe we will have been one of the few who made it through.

Maybe it's time to go to the Spin Doctor and get an attitudinal. They can stick that scope up there and pull out those barriers that hinder the flow of success. Clear those passageways! Let 'er rip!

It all comes down to what we believe. And a believe is just a thought we keep thinking, so if we believe there has to be pain, great struggle and effort, then that is what it will have to be. To believe one thing and expect a different result is insanity. So we get what we believe and we get what we get.

And, of course, all this struggle, effort and pain comes from the activity or action which must fail many times in order to succeed.

Yesterday, I talked about how some win and some don't and the difference is not activity but thought. As I thought more about it for today's Daily Inspiration, I realized that many times in my life, I focused on what I wanted and achieved it very easily. The only problem is that there has been no consistency in that. Has that happened to you too? We learn how to get through once and then can't seem to get through again.

I think the biggest reason for this is the above. It is the belief that we carry from the outside influences in our lives, such as, teachers, television, radio, friends, well-meaning relatives and seeing life go on all around us. We see what is and we get more of what is.

Yet, those few times when we got through so easily, which was such a joy, we didn't believe these things, it just sort of happened. I think that was a very strong desire that overcame all the negative influences, and when we want things but that really strong desire is not there, we cannot get through.

When I was a salesman, I was not on the top of the board very often, but put a trip to Hawaii on the agenda, and I'm number one without a doubt. I won four trips to Hawaii, along with trips to Acapulco, Bermuda, British Columbia, London, along with a cruise to the Bahamas. There was serious strong desire for these, but no consistency otherwise.

The rest of the times my effort was hard, and the pickin's were few, because, well, that's the way life is supposed to be, right? There's no free ride, no gain without pain, no reward without sacrifice and all that rot.

Or not. . .

Which Is Harder? Thought Or Effort? Maybe It Depends On The Prize. . .

Spread Some Joy Today--For lunch today, why don't you treat yourself. Take a little extra time and do something to give yourself some joy.