How to Change the World with Your Thoughts
When the conversation shifts to the power of positive thinking, setting intentions, Think and Grow Rich, the Law of Attraction, fake it until you make it... one crucial point often gets lost.
To change the world with your thoughts, you must think with coherent intention.
This means you must...
- Think the same thing every day
- Fully believe in your thoughts
- Match your actions to your thoughts, and more importantly...
- Conduct your entire life in a manner that is entirely congruent with your thoughts
Let's start with a simple, if somewhat dramatic, example. If you thought that a 100' high tidal wave was going to hit your city in the next hour, what would you do? Would you listen to the news and hang around in your home or office? Hell, no! You would gather your loved ones and race to higher ground, even if it meant driving the wrong way down the highway or leaving everything you own on the sideway.
Now let's shift to a more complicated example. If you want to think your way to a more peaceful world, how would you begin?
You'd start, I would hope, by finding peace within yourself. What shifts you towards anger, frustration, envy, or even self-criticism? How can you counterbalance those forces? You're not going to accomplish this by meditating once, or writing a few passages in your journal. It will take a lot of consistent effort and focus.
You'd also shift your actions in the real world, perhaps by showing kindness to others who you fear or dislike. You might skip your luxury vacation and work instead with gang members through a community center. What? Does working with gang members sound like a crazy thing to do?
Perhaps you don't believe your own thoughts. Did you think it would be easy or trivial to make the world more peaceful?
Powerful thoughts change the world, once they real a certain consistent intensity. The true test is whether your thoughts are powerful enough to change your own actions.
You've probably heard the story of Scott Harrison, a NYC club promoter who became the founder of the non-profit organization Charity: water. He had the thought to change the direction of his life, and started applying to work at major non-profits. They all turned him down, because of his partying background.
Did he abandon his thought? No, he doubled down on it, kept working until someone said yes, and then expanded his vision once he realized just how great the need was for clean water.
"I was running around telling everybody I wanted to see a world where everybody drank clean water regardless of where they are born," says Harrison via CNBC.
This is how your thought changes the world: when it is powerful enough that it takes you to northern Uganda and compels you to sleep on floors while you raise money to help people you don't know.
But fleeting wishes that you make while waiting in line at Starbucks? They don't change the world. In most cases, you have forgotten them after a few days or a week.
To change the world, you need persistent and positive thoughts that are strong enough to change your own actions.
Bruce Kasanoff is Co-Founder of Ikigai Park City, where successful professionals discover—and remain true to—what they were born to do.
An earlier version of this article appeared on Forbes.
watersupply Technician & Trainee Civil engineer and a Trainee Technical officer.
6 年Wonderful article. Yes, I believe in mind changing world, but the thing is, the world is growing on it's own and man only controls the changes taking place, environmental changes, a strong mind sure creates and can make changes take place, mind changing the world is easy, but not removing it, but a powerful mind can. There is no world ending, mind changes, yes.
Enterprise Transformation Lead, AWS
6 年A powerful article with a powerful message. The challenge to think strongly and consistently with congruent behaviour is a challenge on its on. Then we, as leaders, try to change the culture and direction of a team. This takes a lot of humility and will to do. In my series #Astoryofdevops I realised that I couldn't solve the problem as I was part of the problem. I needed to re educate myself, change my behaviours before I could influence others. This article reminds us how hard this is.
Strategy & Organization Consultant | Corporate trainer & Facilitator| Human side of change | Leadership Development | Experienced in Org. analysis, business development, and Customer strategies
6 年I liked this article since it was a tweak for me that if i am going to accomplish my objectives based on what i have in my mind 1) I have to take them into action and be persistent and committed enough 2) when we set our goals, it would be better to have a bigger pic of how we can serve our people around or be a better person with what i am going to achieve