Negative Versus Positive

Few people think what they think they think. Do you know what you think about? The answer is revealed by the life you lead. If you are happy & successful, you are thinking thoughts of happiness & success. If you are wading through an endless stream of problems & finding life painful to bear, it is caused by thoughts of doubt, failure, anger, helplessness, incompetence, & pain. In other words, whether you think life is miserable or great, you're correct, for life is whatever you think it is.

Yes, I am writing about our thoughts again. When you are facing one disaster after another, making compromise after compromise & failing time & time again, how does one keep getting up to face the next problem without losing the will to try?"


1. If you are so mired in problems that you are on the brink of depression, you may be unable to work things out without professional help. If this is your situation, constantly speak to G-d & also go see a counselor or psychiatrist. Your life is too precious to dawdle away.

2. Even if you have some semblance of control over your thoughts, if you are entrenched in dark thoughts, it may not be possible for you to see the sun unaided. In other words, the thoughts I share may fall on deaf ears. If you cannot hear the music, what I say will make no sense to you. If that is the case, seek professional help to get you to the point where you can start to help yourself.

3. When we face one disaster after another, it reinforces the false belief that the cause of our suffering is external events. Be careful not to get caught up in this lie. The problem lies within. It is your thoughts. And you can change your thoughts for the better. Positive thoughts lead to positive feelings, positive behavior, positive consequences, positive beliefs, & a positive life.

4. When you are used to living a life of negativity, any advice you get may appear more like salt in the wounds than as help. That is, you are likely to interpret sound advice as a personal attack. Rather than help you, it may appear to you that the only thing your friends are interested in is in blaming you for your unfortunate circumstances. Because you interpret offers of help as personal attacks, you will resist & fight any thoughts that you are responsible & that you can change. Instead of changing yourself, you will insist that the world change for you, which it will not. The result is endless frustration, with no progress in sight.

5. When you become enmeshed in a web of negative thinking, you are likely to develop a victim's mentality. You will cry out to be rescued. "Help me! Save me! I don't want to change. I don't want to accept responsibility. I don't want to make an effort & work hard. I don't want to struggle. No, I don't want any of that. All I want is to be saved. Won't you rescue me?" All such pleas for help are made in vain. Don't seek to be rescued. Instead, try to reach the point, with or without the help of others, where you will be able to rescue yourself. You are the only one who can do it & if you have G-d by your side, you can & will succeed.

Now, let's look at what some of the brightest minds had to say about the power of thought:

"What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind. Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts. But once mastered, no one can help you as much." Buddha (568 ~ 488 BC)

"A man's life is what his thoughts make of it. Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking." Marcus Aurelius (121 ~ 180 AD)

"There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so." William Shakespeare (1564 ~ 1616)

"Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts." Soren Kierkegaard (1813 ~ 1855)

"All that you accomplish or fail to accomplish with your life is the direct result of your thoughts. You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you." James Allen (1864 ~ 1912)

You may think that what you think about is unimportant, but your thoughts are the bricks you use to build your life. Negative thoughts build a prison. Positive thoughts build a comfortable home. But beware of intruders in your home. Beware of a home invasion. When a sudden disaster strikes, don't let negative thoughts ransack your home; don't allow these intruders to steal your happiness. Chase uninvited guests out of your home (mind).

How can you master yourself & master life unless you master your thoughts? But how do we master our thoughts? We master them by reading G-ds Holy word & putting to practice in our lives all the lessons taught. By keeping G-d near & in our hearts; by asking ourselves what He would do.

If you cannot help yourself, get outside help. And if you can help yourself, read, study & apply the word of G-d to your life. Welcome the challenge that faces you. With effort & patience you can change your thoughts & change your life. After all, there are only four conditions necessary for the acquisition of any physical skill, mental power, moral virtue or personal excellence. The Courage to try something you do not know how to do, the Patience to try again once you have discovered that you don't know how to do it, the Perseverance to renew the trial, as many times as necessary, until you do know how to do it. Finally, have Faith in yourself & in G-d the Father. Faith is not believing without proof, it is trusting without reservation. Trust yourself. You can do it. Trust G-d your Creator. Start today.

We must not be surprised by calamities & hardship. Such obstacles are the admission ticket to life & a small price to pay to gain admission to the endless joy that await those with a positive outlook & faith in G-d. Let us abandon the attitude of a victim & replace it with that of a victor.


G-d Bless,

J