I made choices without considering the consequences, but there were fruitful lessons learned. I allowed negativity to characterise me. I gave it power over my life. Everyone has their own story.
The people who succeed in life are not necessarily the best looking, the strongest, the most educated or the most intelligent among us. They also may not have enjoyed the luxury of a supportive family, financial security and other advantages. It is their will to carry on that allowed them to succeed, regardless of their circumstances.
Success has nothing to do with physical status, background, financial security or education. Aha! I’ve got it! If you tell yourself that you cannot make it, then, you have already failed. The power lies in what you feed your brain. Your thoughts produce actions, and actions become your reality. It all starts with the state of your mind.
When I realised I had to teach myself to handle rejection without taking it personally, that became my “aha” moment. As crazy as it may seem, I missed countless opportunities because of the fear of rejection. The word ‘no’ cannot physically hurt you. I told myself it could only affect me if I allow it to.
Aha! We have the ability and power to choose our thoughts. My mistakes are a stepping-stone. I will not let my mistakes and regrets stop me from conquering challenges. The mental obstacles of fear, worry and anxiety, depression and failure are the ones that hold many of us back from achieving success.
Charlie Chaplin, the famous comic actor for example, came from a poor and underprivileged background. His father was a drunk and his mother was often out of work, but that did not stop him. He told himself that he could do it and he became the most successful, famous and talked-about comedian of his time. Keep that mind in check and believe me, you can become anything you want.
I noticed my mind attracts anything that it continuously dwells upon, so I taught myself to repeat phrases such as “I can” and “I am able”. I realised that my subconscious gives me exactly what I want. If I feed my mind with negative thoughts about my situation or about who I am it will accept this as the truth and promote such behaviour. I therefore changed my thinking patterns.
In, a nutshell, become a master at self-communication. I trained myself to think and speak positively. What you put in is what you get out. I made it a daily habit to use self-talk to benefit me in my everyday life. Instead of focusing on my weaknesses and failures, I rather praised myself as often as possible for my past and present success no matter how big or small they are. It is imperative that I regularly spend a few minutes focusing on my past successes no matter how long ago they occurred, it helps to provide a renewed boost of energy that will help me achieve success again. Like I said, it’s all a state of mind. If I won before, I can win again.
I wake every morning reciting this affirmation and I have found it has a positive outcome throughout the day: I am smart. I am strong. I can do anything I put my mind to.
This is what I learned, we all have problems but it is how we react and respond towards our situation that is important.
I now see things from a new perspective, I am not afraid of problems. In fact, instead of running away from them, I actively seek them out and confront them to keep my thinking processes oiled and practiced. I am becoming comfortable with change, confident in facing up to the unknown and I am at ease with facing up to new challenges in life.

Tell us: Do you believe that it is important to keep your mind away from negative thoughts?