Our Thoughts Determine our Greatness

January 21, 2009 by Milton Kamwendo
Filed under: Unleashing Greatness 

 

William James once said, “A great many people think they are thinking, when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” It is important that we evaluate our thoughts – are they really ours or we are simply rehearsing the prejudices and opinions of others?

 

We need to schedule time for thinking and reflection. Thinking time should never be looked at as idle time. The busier we are, the more time we need to invest in thinking. Action without thought is dangerous and thought without action is self-deception. 

 

Think Big 
The challenge that most us face is not that we do not think — we just think in a very limited way. Somehow, we sometimes invest more effort into thinking why things cannot be done that we invest in exploring possibilities. I once read an interesting book called “The Art of the Deal” by Donald Trump (1987). In this book he talks about how he approaches the big deals that he arranges and sketches his biography. The most inspiring lines in the book relate to thinking big. As I read the book I was left with a conviction that one cannot think like an ant and simultaneously behave like an elephant. 

 

Donald Trump fittingly and true to his nature says, “I like thinking big. I always have. To me it’s very simple: if you are going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big. Most people think small, because most people are afraid of success, afraid of making decisions, afraid of winning. And that gives people like me a great advantage.” The smaller we think the more we excuse ourselves from the path of greatness. Greatness is not for timid souls that are content with nibbling at some crumbs of life when there is a banquet next door. 

 

Sometimes we are not aware of how small we are thinking until we dare to attempt something bigger than our present reality or we meet someone who has met and triumphed over bigger challenges. When we hang around people that think small we are only delaying our greatness and massaging our mediocrity. 

 

Thought Limitations 
There are a number of things that limit our thinking and therefore limit our experience of life and progress towards the path of greatness. Among these limitations are excuses, self-doubt, traditions and fear. Whatever limitation we choose to dwell upon grows in our minds. Excuses are a major limitation that scuttles people from the path of greatness. Whatever excuses we adopt and rationalise become limitations to our progress. Until we are willing to challenge our excuses we will never grow beyond the limit of those excuses. 

 

There is a difference between a goal and an activity. When we set our goals and there are no obstacles to overcome what we are pursuing is not a goal but an activity of life. What makes a goal exciting is that there must be some real obstacles to overcome. We could choose to turn these obstacles into limitations or into stepping stones. Obstacles are always the things that we see when our focus shifts from our goals. 

 

The Winner’s Creed
Winning or losing is a choice that we make. If we do not make a deliberate choice in our minds to win by default we would have destined ourselves to be losers in life. The thoughts that we entertain will determine the words that we speak, the attitude we carry and the actions that we take. 

 

There is an important poem that my wise friend, Anonymous, once wrote which distils the importance of controlling our thoughts if we want to control our destiny. Anonymous entitled this poem, The Winner’s Creed and may this creed inspire new thoughts and visions of greatness in our lives:

“If you think you are beaten, you are

If you think you dare not, you don’t

If you like to win, but you think you can’t 

It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost.

For out of the world we find, 

Success begins with a person’s will – 

It’s all in the state of mind

If you think you’re outclassed, you are.

You’ve got to think high to rise.

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win the prize. 

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger woman or man, 

But sooner or later the one who wins 

Is the one WHO THINKS HE CAN.”

 

To your greatness

 

Milton Kamwendo

Share and Enjoy:
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Digg
  • Technorati
  • del.icio.us
  • LinkedIn

Tags: , ,

Comments

8 Responses to “Our Thoughts Determine our Greatness”

  1. Chido Tendayi on January 21st, 2009 4:06 pm

    Thank You Milton,,…very inspirational,…

  2. Immaculate on January 21st, 2009 11:27 pm

    This is inspirational, what one would not only like but need to hear as a new year begins. Quiet motivating. As grace abounds, we CAN dream and do much!! Thanks Milton.

  3. Faith Mabaleka on January 22nd, 2009 10:42 am

    like what my boss is always saying..you can only see a star when its dark..with our current situation in Zim, many have lost hope but lets not even forget that the children of Israel went through the same experiences. what makes them different is that they never gave up. I told myself i will achieve my goals here in Zim, I dont need to leave Zim to realise my goals. Through Christ all things are possible…lets keep up the Faith!!!!

  4. rawllings on January 22nd, 2009 12:30 pm

    hi
    i guess from what i have read from most of your commentaties and all,you seem to have made some accurate discoveries about people behaviours and attitudes towards life.i hope you are still holding some of those success coaching discussions like the one i attended sometime at prince edward in 2001 or so.that was really instrumental in my life and how i carry myself.please keep me informed.regards

  5. Vitalis Musara on January 25th, 2009 1:42 pm

    Thanks for the wonderful and well thought article. It sends waves directly to my mind and heart. Its a reminder/motivation that came at the right time in my life. Yes we can!

    Thanks for inspirating words.

    God bless you!

  6. tafadzwa on February 13th, 2009 3:39 pm

    its the best poem ive read in years, actually, the only one

  7. keyncKacy on March 10th, 2009 3:09 am

    Hello, I can’t understand how to add your blog in my rss reader
    ————————
    sponsor: http://werato.ru/

  8. vitalis matura on February 8th, 2010 5:44 pm

    powerful staff l choose change the way l think!!!!!!

Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!