Understanding the Power of Mindset (part 1)

UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF MINDSET

(Part 1)

It is pertinent for you to understand, primarily among many other things, that your mindset goes a long way in determining the quality of the life you live. What is mindset? Mindset basically refers to the orientation and inclination of your mind. That is, it is what you think subconsciously. It is made up of your personal beliefs and convictions.  It is also refers to the vista of your views about things. I have come to discover that what obtains in your life is greatly dependent on the kind of mindset you sustain. Your ideologies and philosophy is very much crucial to determining the outcome of your life.

One thing many of us have not come to realize is that there is power in our mindset. Your mindset about things in life has power to determine what happens to you. Your mindset provides premise for whatever happens in your life. Every results in life (whether negative or positive) is facilitated by the orientation of your mindset. If you believe you can’t succeed, there’s little or no probability that you will succeed. And, on the other hand, if you believe you will succeed, you already set in motion the things that will make for that success.

You see, what others say about you does not really matter. Many of us see and define our lives by the opinions of others. We see ourselves through others views of us giving us a false reality of ourselves, and making us to build our lives on an entirely wrong mindset. And, because there is creative power in our mindset, we unnecessarily create negative patterns and circumstances in our lives. People might have called you names — derogatory names. You might have been abused, insulted, looked down upon or written off in the society. But, i want you to know that those things do not really matter in determining the outcome of your life. It is what you believe about yourself that matters. Your belief has a way of manipulating circumstances around your life.

I listened to the renowned international inspirational speaker, late Dr Myles Munroe, speaking on how he became successful, and  i was inspired. There used to be a teacher of his in his primary school days that called him (together with other blacks in his class) all kinds of demeaning names like, retarded, half breed monkey, half human, etc. The teacher made them to believe that the blacks are inferior in all ramifications to the white. He said he began to believe what the teacher said about them, as  he began to wonder why there was so much development with the whites than the blacks. Of course, they seemed to be leading in all areas of human endeavors. Talk about, industrialization, technological advancements, military powers, leadership, etc. And, so, his mindset began to go in line with what the teacher used to call him, and the other blacks in the class. However, one day he got home crying, and his mother noticed. Then, he narrated what had happened in school; how that the teacher had abused them, insulted them, and called them all kinds of names that were so image diminishing. His mummy then told him not to believe the words of the teacher but that he should rather believe he was good, and in fact better than the whites. His mother made him to realize that his success in life had nothing to do with whatever the teacher said but had everything to do with what he would believe about himself. This was how his mindset about himself, his ability, potentials and purpose changed positively. With time, Munroe who was formerly a, “F” student suddenly became an, “A” student, and graduated as the overall best student in the school. Later attended Oral Roberts university where he had 3 bachelor’s degree in 4 years. Would later have to be honored with 5 doctorate degrees by 5 different universities. Remember, he was once called half human. i mean, he could not have eventually become successful if he had allowed the comments of the teacher to define his reality.

Listen, my dear reader, your circumstances and situations in life are not what determine the outcome of your life. No! It’s your belief and convictions rather that does. Maybe you are living in failure and wallowing in depression, and then, you know, you are downcast and dejected not knowing how to go about your life; probably, you have even started considering suicide as a better option. Oh No! Don’t do that. Brace yourself up, and change your mentality. Never allow the circumstances around your life to define the outcome of your life. You might have been told you are not brilliant or probably, your last result was nothing to write home about. You don’t even know what is going to be your lot academically. You are already seeing yourself as an utter failure. Come on, don’t define your life by those things. Majority of the successful people today experienced the same things you are experiencing right now, yet they never allow their circumstances to define their reality. Rather, they stood up against their challenges with a positive mindset. I hope you know one of the greatest neurosurgeons (if not the greatest) in the world today was once called a dullard? Yes, talking of Benjamin Carson, he was known to be a dummy! Yet, he rose to become a successful surgeon. Oh my God! Does a dullard become a surgeon? Don’t you know how technical, complex and intellectually  tasking and demanding that field of endeavor is? Come on, change your belief. Change your mindset.

Permit me to say, and with every sense of humility, if anyone should tell me that i would be able to write today, I would doubt to the core. Never believed in my potentials. I used to be extremely shy.  Oh my God! You needed to hear me speak; full of blunders. Vocabulary bank was empty. I used to run from articles in English Language. Arti …..what!?? You don't find me there. Not until I came across a book written by Rick Warren, “The Purpose Driven life”. It has remained a life changing book for me. It changed my mindset, philosophy and ideology. Gave me a clue into God’s purpose for my life, illuminated by darkened ability, and gave credibility to my potentials. It was such a life changing book for me. And, by the grace of God, I have written so many inspirational articles which I believe today have inspired many to purpose discovery and destiny fulfillment. Never knew what i was running from - writing - would now be a cardinal point in God's purpose for my life. All Glory to God. Friend, what you think is what you are.

Many families today are living in perpetual darkness and failure because of what they believe about themselves. Some will be like, “in our family, nobody goes to the university”. Oh my God! And, you believe that as your reality? Listen, as long as your mind is programmed to think that way, you will never be out of the bondage. Mindsets  are what determines what happens in your life. During the slave trade when the whites invaded some African countries and took away our forefathers as slaves to their world. The bondage in which our forefathers were kept was not actually what limited them. It was the slave mindset they inculcated into them that did! That’s why even now that there is no more slave trade, many of us Africans today are still slave (in our mind) to the westerners. To compound the problem, they commonly refer to us as the Third World nations, and we too stylishly believe that philosophy. We don’t know that being a Third World nation is more of an “underdeveloped mindset” than it is of an "underdeveloped nation.". Our politics and leadership is nothing to write home about (sorry to say) but that’s the truth. We gained independence yet we remain dependent in our minds. Our political system is characterized by corruption and poor leadership, and you think what makes us third World is our underdeveloped status in respect to technological advancements and industrialization. No sir! It’s our minds.

Dear reader, I want to ask you today. What do you believe about yourself?. Yes, you were born out of wedlock but then, your destiny is not out of wedlock. Yes, what you wrote down in that exam was, to be sincere, not promising but then, your destiny is bigger than that. Your standard of living currently is not encouraging but then, there’s a purpose for your life. In your community where you come from, they don’t get married early, but then, would you also believe that you won’t get married early? You can’t think failure and mistakenly become successful.There is power in your mindset that can determine the outcome of your life. I like you to change your view about yourself today, and begin to think positively about yourself.

What kind of mindset should you sustain to be victorious and successful in life and ministry ? This, I will expound on in the  second part. Thanks and God bless you for reading.