Using Positive Thinking and the Power of Persistence
Photo by: Revati Upadhya
Thought for the Day: 10/4/08:
“There are only two things you can do for yourself. One is conception and the other is conviction. All the work of creation rests with another than you. For no [one] is responsible for anything in this life except [their] thoughts and [their] beliefs.” – U.S. Anderson, “Three Magic Words,” page 49.
Yesterday, as I drove into Boston to once again put the laws of “Intentional Creation” into practice, this time to negotiate with a car dealer to be compensated for some damage to my car that was undetected until after I purchased it, I was overwhelmed with the realization that this latest challenge was nothing more than an opportunity to manifest even greater abundance for myself and my family.
Granted, thoughts were swirling around in my mind all week about what I would do if I weren’t successful in receiving compensation to cover $3000+ worth of damage that we discovered during a routine inspection, and my Monkey Mind also focused on points I would make within the negotiation itself: arguments I would raise, objections I would counter, instead of simply focusing solely on the desired result: a repaired car back in my hands. Then, in the final hours, I began to redirect my focus solely on what I wanted, constantly overcoming the Monkey Mind’s desire to focus on the difficulty, the problem itself, the enigma of the negotiation. In fact, the image that came to my mind was one of my shining, fixed car spinning in front of my eyes, like a glossy car commercial inside my mind.
Look for the Light In Others and Circumstances
During that beautiful ride into Boston, driving purposely through the crisp October air, a huge smile crept across my face. Not only was I going to be successful in manifesting my intention, but I was also going to have fun in the process. Right then and there I decided to shift my perception of the owner of the car dealership. Instead of assuming that he was a swindler, a typical “used car salesman” who sold me a lemon, I instead envisioned him as a successful, balanced entrepreneur, no different than myself, who was also in the midst of a problem (i.e. selling a valued customer a damaged product), and that he would do everything in his power to resolve this problem fairly. I made a choice to look only for the light in him, to approach the situation calmly, and to allow a space within our negotiation for the Universal Mind to be able to exist and provide the answers for our right-minded thinking.
Over the course of the week as I thought about this problem, I realized that too much of my thinking was oriented towards the problem itself as opposed to the solution. I thought of all the things I would say, the merits of my case, and what I would do if I didn’t get what I wanted. Looking back, I realize it is literally insane thinking within the context of any perceived problem to do anything else besides constantly focus on a positive result.
And why is this true? Well the answer is simple. We have a choice in every given moment of our day as to how we wish to perceive external stimuli. The choice is ours and ours alone. So why not assume the best? If we assume the worst and the worst manifests, our only reward will be to have been “right.” If we assume the best and the best happens, we will be rewarded with the desired outcome and the “benefit” of being “right.” But what if we assume the best and the worst happens? Or we assume the best an outcome we didn’t plan for occurs, or we assume the best and something somewhere between best and worst manifests?
Persistence Pays
This is such an important question because it brings about one of the most important concepts of prosperity consciousness and success, and that is the concept of persistence. The easiest way to truly understand persistence is to view it as simply a refusal to accept negative outcomes as final. In other words, when things appear to be negative, these occurences are merely reminders that more opportunities exist to once again realign ourselves with the Universal Mind. The old adage, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over,” simply means, it isn’t over until we say it’s over. U.S. Anderson puts it even more clearly, saying, “do not deny negative circumstance. Simply have faith in what you believe and refuse to accept negative circumstances as final.“
There is always an opportunity for a second act, another day, another try. Even on the precipice of death is there an opportunity for a shift in consciousness. What one day might be perceived as a calamity might the next be seen as a windfall. As an example, the other day I was talking to one of my customers who was explaining why I hadn’t seen her in a while. Turns out she was in a car accident and had to miss work while recuperating from injuries. Sounds bad, right? Well, she goes on to say that prior to the accident, her car had encountered some serious maintenance issues that would require several thousand dollars worth of repair work. There were also some other things about the car that she didn’t like and had made an intention to somehow get a new car. In addition, being from Russia, she had made the intention of visiting her family next year and was saving her vacation days for that, but at the same time, had decided that she would like to take some vacation days now after working for over two years without a single day off. She wasn’t sure how she would be able to afford taking vacation days twice, as her trip to Russia would require a lot of time with the far distance to travel.
Not long after deciding on this intention was she struck by another motorist while driving home from work, totalling her car and injuring her. While injured, fortunately none of her wounds were life threatening or permanent. Her doctor ordered her to 2-3 weeks of rest at home, exactly the time off that she had been desiring prior to the crash. With her car totalled, she no longer had to worry about that large repair bill and her insurance settlement ended up providing more money than she owed on the car, resulting in her making money on the exchange, which allowed her to buy a new, safer car, for less money than her cheaper compact car, due to the extra funds she received in the settlement.
As she told me about this, I remarked on how she had been putting the Law of Attraction and Law of Intention Creation in practice, and she admitted that she had been realigning her thoughts for several years now and wasn’t all that surprised by the results she had achieved. What appeared to be a bad situation turned totally positive, based on her manner of thinking.
Many of us might have stopped at the car crash, the injuries, the inconveniences. We would have battled against the insurance company, our health care providers, or our employers on minutiae that would have suddenly expanded into larger problems. But a refusal to accept a negative outcome as final leads to untold riches.
A phrase often heard in recovery circles is, “Don’t quit before the miracle happens.” If we continue to persist, the miracle is right around the corner, behind the next door, just waiting for us to discover it.
I thought about this last night, shaking hands with the owner of the car dealership, smiling as he wrote a large check out to me to cover the damages. Mission accomplished.
“Each nay I hear will bring me closer to the sound of yea. Each frown I meet only prepares me for the smile to come. Each misfortune I encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow’s good luck. I must have the night to appreciate the day. I must fail often to succeed only once.”– Og Mandino
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:38 pm
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