Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can or if you think you can’t—you’re right.” This mirrors a truth found in the Proverbs: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV). In other words, a deeply held thought becomes a part of who you are.
I have pondered recently about how much power our thoughts have. And have been identifying and trying to eradicate some of the thought processes which are unhelpful and contrary to what I know to be true from God’s Word. I’ve realized that my happiness in life and my ability to serve God and others are directly related to what I allow to settle in my heart and mind.
A funny story I once heard illustrates how our attitude is so impactful on our happiness. A couple had twin boys who were very different from each other. One was extremely optimistic about everything and full of excitement and joy; the other, no matter how good his circumstances, was always unhappy and negative. Their parents took them to a counselor, whose advice was to make the negative boy’s life as easy and pleasant as possible to offset his pessimism, and to create difficulty and hardship for the positive boy to temper his optimism.
A few days later was the boys’ birthday. The parents filled a room with wonderful gifts for their pessimistic son. When they brought him to see all the gifts, he looked at each one, saying how it wasn’t his favorite color, was too simple or too complicated, might break easily, etc.
The parents were disappointed, but decided to continue the plan, so they brought their other son to another room which was empty except for a pile of horse manure. When this boy saw the dung, he started jumping up and down, clapping his hands. His parents were startled and asked, “Why are you happy about a room full of manure?” He replied “Well, with all this dung, I am pretty sure that there is a pony waiting for me around the corner!”
I doubt that this is a true story, but it illustrates how our attitudes are more affected by our thought patterns than by our circumstances.
I am learning that, although I may not always be able to change my circumstances, I can make sure my thoughts are focused on positive, faith-building things and aligned with God’s Word (Philippians 4:8). I can then be a positive influence, and not allow negativity, bitterness, or discouragement to cloud my mind.