by David
Blanchard, President, 6 Advisors, Inc.
The highest level of maturity is to be real, genuine and authentic without
a need to impress, pretend, feel ashamed, or fear. Inherent in this definition
is a person’s willingness to take full and complete responsibility for
his or her thoughts and resultant actions. This person is free to stretch, make
mistakes and grow. When people abdicate this responsibility by placing blame
for their thoughts and actions on someone or something else, they can become
powerless victims of circumstance.
Those who take full and complete responsibility for their thoughts and actions
discover one of the greatest secrets of success: “The only thing we can
control in this life is our thoughts.” These people give up the senseless
and futile attempt to control situations and people. Instead they focus their
energy on controlling what can be controlled – their thoughts.
As a result, they are transparent to the need to impress, pretend, feel ashamed,
and fear. They are confident, comfortable in their own skin, capable of addressing
serious issues and situations on a moment’s notice – ready to serve others.
As masters of their thoughts, they have become the captains of their destiny
and they bless everyone around them. The choice is simple. Be a victim imprisoned
by circumstance or be a captain free to sail the wide oceans of life.
We are not our thoughts. These are just thoughts. We are metacognitive – beyond
thought. And if we are not our thoughts, who are we? We are the observer and
chooser of our thoughts. We have thoughts and these thoughts belong to us, but
that’s not who we are. Consider the captain and owner of a sailboat.
He can guide the boat and choose its direction. The boat is his, he is the caption,
but he is not the boat. He can step back and observe his boat even while it
is sailing and can make choices based upon his observations. He is in control
of where his boat will sail. So we, too, can become the captain of our thoughts.
Like the sea captain, YOU are the observer. You observe all at your command
(your thoughts) and then choose the actions you will take. Your task is to become
a master Observer/Chooser. This is the essence of true success. Success begins
with a conscious choice and choosing again and again and again in every moment
until you have shed your old skin and developed a new habit of being YOU.
Dave
Blanchard is the Chairman and CEO of The Og Group, Inc. and family of companies,
The Greatest Salesman, Inc. and 6 Advisors, Inc. He is the co-developer of the
6 Advisors Assessment Report™ and coaching curriculum. http://www.6Advisors.com
