Power of Thoughts

We live in a world full of nature, animals, humans, robots, and many other creatures. Up to this point, humans were believed to be the superior creatures due to a very special thing that we have. This special thing is our mind. Our mind is the most valuable thing we possess. The condition of our mind will determine what kind of life we will have, how our environment will influence us, and how we will influence our environment.

Imagine if you are a janitor who works in an office building and you have to clean 100 toilets every day. One day, after you finish cleaning the last toilet, your manager tells you that you used the wrong cleaning supplies, and you have to clean all the toilets again. How would you feel? What would you think? Most people would take a negative approach, lamenting over all the previous work done in vain. They would then clean the toilets in a bad mood, just rushing to finish work, and it would probably cause them to have a bad day. But what if you chose to take a positive approach to this situation?

A young man called John Witherspoon was faced with this same situation on his second day of work. In fact, he had a date planned with a nice young lady for 6 pm that evening. The ‘bad news’ meant that he would have to stay back at work until 8 pm, and miss out on his rare chance at finding a girlfriend. Despite this, John chose a positive approach. He cancelled the date, and went through all the toilets cheerfully and carefully, until 9 pm. While he worked, he took his time to think about everything he was doing, and how he could do it better. When John got to his 78th toilet, he realized that there was a fundamental flaw in the standard toilet design. He spent the next 6 months creating a more practical toilet design. John eventually got a patent for his design, and went on to revolutionize the toilet industry in his country.

Does this mean that positive thinking will lead to us all becoming toilet masters? I hope not. However, regardless of our situation, the way we think about what is happening to us will determine the way we respond. If something bad happens to us, we can choose how we respond to it. There is always a chance to learn from every situation, and we should try to learn more everyday.

Recently, many inspirational videos and books have come out teaching about the ‘supernatural’power of your thoughts. They say that you are the master of your own life, and anything you set your mind to will actually happen. After reading one of those books, a friend of mine stood in an empty parking lot for 3 hours sweating and thinking hard about a Mercedes Benz. Unfortunately, the Benz did not magically appear. You may not have supernatural magical power in your thoughts, but a more practical and equally as strong power. Your thoughts determine your actions, and your actions determine your reality, so it is important to think wisely.

Jordan

Vocabulary

lament (v) ? to feel sorry or regret
patent (n) ? a government document given to someone who invents a new product
fundamental (adj.) ? forming a necessary base or core; of central importance
supernatural (adj.) ? attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature