“Willingness, honesty and open-mindedness are the keys to recovery.”
“The further along I go with this awakening that has happened and continues to unfold, the more it becomes apparent that the real key to waking up is wanting to wake up.”
– Tom Stine
For a long time I considered “willpower” associated with avoiding certain foods. If I had enough willpower, I could chew gum from the time I got home from school until dinner thus avoiding any after school snack. Goodbye hours sitting at the kitchen counter watching Matlock and devouring entire bags of pretzels.
I’ve learned, however, that willpower applies to matters far beyond the kitchen.
The power of your will can be used to improve your thinking. Every thought you have is infused with energy. Think about a time when you felt powerful, in control, happy, proud…you can feel the effects of that in your body. Think about a time when you felt powerless, put-upon, detached, angry…you can feel that too, in a completely different way. You can use the same willpower you might use to prevent yourself from eating a whole bag of pretzels (not the snack pack size, either) to prevent yourself from going to the place of powerlessness and anger. You can use that same power of your will to make a better choice. You might go to powerlessness and anger, but you can choose to see this experience as something from which you can learn.
Just like when you make good food choices you see positive results in your body, you mind is similarly reliant on the principle of “good in—good out.” To make a better choice, and to keep your thinking in line with what best serves you, you need to be…willing. Be willing to connect with your true purpose…boiled down your purpose is to feel good. Because when you feel good, you are of service to yourself, those are you, and the ripple effect begins. When you connect with your true purpose, you can see how your low-level thoughts are not serving you. So, be purposeful in how you’re choosing your thoughts. And be willing to see things differently.
Your activity:
Think of an area of your life where maybe you’re suffering. Affirm to yourself that you’re willing to release this suffering. Pinpoint how your thoughts are creating your circumstance. What belief or concept is repeating in your mind? How can you think differently? Are you willing to use willpower to choose a better-feeling thought? Every time it comes up?
Let me know what happens!