Elevate Your Thinking to Elevate Your Life
Do you feel stuck and unable to move yourself towards a better life?
You have to elevate your thinking to raise your life beyond where it is today. Marshall Goldsmith got it right when he said, “What got you here won’t get you there.”
If you want different results than what you’ve been getting, then you have to start acting differently. But first, you must change your mind. I mean this quite literally. You must work to transform your thoughts to elevate your life.
Our actions are driven by our thoughts. Therefore, by elevating our thoughts on a particular topic, we can produce better results in that area of our life.
An Example of How Elevated Thoughts Elevated My Life
A few years ago, I decided I wanted to do better with my personal finances. I hadn’t done a terrible job, but I just wasn’t really getting ahead in the way that I wanted either. I was stuck.
I knew I needed help to elevate my situation. I turned to where I almost always go to learn new things. I looked for a book on the subject and I got lucky. I found Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. Well, actually my wife found it and read it first, but she twisted my arm until I read it too thankfully passed it along to me.
This book changed my mind about how I handle money and propelled me to greater financial achievement. Here are a few examples of the new thinking that it gave me:
- I will spend less if I pay for most things with cash instead of a debit or credit card. – I used to always pay for everything with my debit card. It was easy and convenient. It was so easy that I spent more than I should have. Psychologically speaking, studies have shown that it is just harder to hand cold, hard cash over to the clerk behind the counter than it is to whip out some plastic. This one realization helped me significantly reduce frivolous spending.
- I absolutely must have a budget to adequately direct my money toward my priorities. – I never even balanced my checkbook before I read Dave’s book. Honestly, I resisted the idea of living on a budget. I thought it would cramp my style. However, slowly, but surely I became convinced that a budget was the tool I needed to accomplish my financial goals. Since I started using a budget, I’ve really started winning with money and building my net worth.
- I need to be debt free to get ahead financially. – I’ve had debt since I was in high school. I borrowed money to buy cars and in college I got my first credit card. I thought owing other people money was just what adults did. However, Dave educated me and helped me to see that my debt was draining me of all my financial power. It was the ball and chain keeping me from getting ahead. Now I’m debt free except for my mortgage and I’m saving a nice little nest egg.
- I can become wealthy even though I’m just a regular guy. – Previously, I thought that the only people that become wealthy were those that won the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes or that inherited a ton of money from a long, lost relative. However, my thoughts have changed on this notion as well. I now realize that accumulating cash has a lot more to do with having a plan and being disciplined in executing the plan over time than it does coming into some big windfall. I know that regular people can become very prosperous.
Can you see how my thinking on the subject of money evolved? Dave Ramsey’s book started turning my mind in a different direction which resulted in new behavior that I’d never exhibited before. This new behavior produced new and better results. I elevated my thoughts and it elevated my life.
You can apply this same technique in any area of your life where you want to see improvement!
3 Steps to Elevate Your Thinking to Elevate Your Life
Do you have an area of your life that you’d like to improve? If so, then I’d suggest following these three steps to elevate your thinking so you can quickly reach your goals.
1. Expose Yourself (not like that!)
“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” ~ Charles “Tremendous” Jones
Identify a way to expose yourself to some new ideas in the area in which you want to improve. You want to educate yourself on how people with demonstrated success in your chosen area have done it. For me, I usually turn to books or web sites, but you might be different. You might prefer a class, a seminar or just talking to other successful people about it. The method doesn’t matter, seeking the keys that made others successful is what you are after in anyway that you can get it.
However, you find this new information, I’d highly suggest that you record it somehow for later reference. At the very least, write down the key things that struck you in a journal so you can refer back to them later. Changing your mind will likely take a little while. Don’t rush it. Let the new ideas soak in thoroughly by referring back to them often.
2. Question Your Thinking
“The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.” ~ Muhammad Ali
As you mull over these new ideas, start questioning your old thinking and behavior. Ask yourself, “Why do I believe the way I do about this? How do my beliefs influence my behavior in this area?” Try to be honest with yourself and really unpack the whys and hows of your thinking on the subject. Play the role of Dr. Phil and ask yourself, “How’s that workin’ for ya?” List out the outcomes you’ve experienced compared to the results you really desire. This will help you to see where your old thinking has fallen short and it will help you to see the logic in the new ideas.
Spend some time with the ideas you want to reject out right. These could be where you can experience the most gain. These might just be the keys to your success!
This is probably a good time to refer back to the reference material you established in Step 1. I’d also suggest that you talk it over with a trusted advisor. Saying things out loud helps to sort it all out. Through all this, you will likely start to see a new path towards greater achievement!
3. Start Acting
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” ~ Walt Disney
Develop a plan based on your new elevated thinking and act on it daily. Set written goals for yourself and check them off as you accomplish them. The documented results will build your confidence and maintain your motivation for your new, elevated thinking.
Beware because you are likely going to encounter some resistance to your new thinking. Someone or something in your life will likely resist the change that you are creating. This is typical. You should expect it and be comforted when it appears. This means that you are on the right track. You are actually changing enough to make a difference! Be firm, but gentle and continue until you have overcome the resistance. Don’t let it discourage or dissuade you!
What do you do to elevate your thoughts to elevate your life? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Photo by gruntzooki
I can also point to Dave Ramsey as marking a major turning point in my life. We were over $40,000 in consumer debt thinking we were OK. Once I started listing to and reading Dave’s book I changed the way I looked at debt. My wife just thought it was another phase I was going through. Obviously that was not the case. We are not in a better home in a nicer area and debt free except for our home mortgage. One day that will be paid off too!
Dustin @ Envelope Budget Software´s last blog ..Kind Words from Inzolo Members
Dustin – I had a very similar experience. Many people just “run into” new ideas that change their lives like this. It is a very random thing. I’d suggest using the process intentionally to improve any area where you want a better life.
Great post, Jeff! So many people stay stuck in bad or even mediocre circumstances simply because they’re convinced they are stuck!
Mandi @ Organizing Your Way´s last blog ..Great Investment Opportunities for Investing Beginners
Mandi – You are so right! If someone is stuck, then I’d suggest they do something to get unstuck. Why go through life accepting less than the best?
This is spot on Jeff. People say we are what we eat, well, we are also what we think.
If we can envision and aspire to more, we’ll grow and evolve.
I also share a personal evolution cycle with you regarding Ramsey. I started listening to his podcasts a couple years ago and it has had a material impact on my being.
Simply being exposed to Ramsey has led me to Dan Miller and John Miller’s book QBQ and so many other books and ideas I want to explore further.
Oh, and that’s all in addition to my remade stance regarding personal finance.
Yeah, thanks for the article. It helps me reflect on my similar experiences and awakes me to what may be next.
Thanks!
Dave
DoYouDaveRamsey´s last blog ..David Allen Is A Genius
Dave – Great point! Elevated thoughts in one area often lead us to new and better ways of thinking in other areas of life as well. Instead of spiraling down, we can spiral up in life!
What I do to elevate my thoughts is to try to be more aware of what I’m thinking of. Sometimes I go through life on autopilot and when I’m thinking of something I is not helping me, I don’t even realize that it’s happening. The thoughts that we focus determine the reality in our present moment, that’s why I strongly agree with this post. Thanks Jeff.
Dave Ramsey’s book also was a turning point in our life. I read it a few months ago and we are turning our life around. We were never in debt (except for car and house) but our emergency fund was depleted through our international adoption.
We are now getting our house ready for selling. We are going to downsize to a smaller house and use the extra money we get from selling our house, to make an emergency fund and pay off our car. After that, all our money will go toward paying off the much smaller mortgage. We should be officially debt free in 3 years.
We are hoping it goes that way anyway.
Great post!