The great thinkers of the world are known for thinking in new ways and trying to understand life from different perspectives. They think outside of our usual ways of seeing the world, and spend time in curiosity.

Most of us are trapped in a cycle of thinking that perpetuates our life situation, and attracts more of the same. Have you ever considered looking at your thoughts and challenging why you think the way you do?

I invite you to take this challenge. For the next 30 days, try looking at areas of your life that are causing you distress or problems and try to understand them from a new perspective.

This can be life changing if you are:

Sad
Depressed
Feeling stuck
Always facing one thing after another
Reacting instead of responding to life
A victim of circumstances

If you can say yes to any of the above perhaps your thought process’s are contributing to those experiences. Our thoughts directly affect our behaviour and the way we feel, so when we can understand our thoughts we can change our life.

If you are depressed, there is a tendency to want to stay in bed, not interact with others, and lose all interest in life. All these behaviours add to the depressive state and ‘make’ us feel sadness, guilt, anger, and many other emotions. The cycle is perpetuated until new thoughts and actions are put in place.

When we are aware of our thoughts, and ideally notice them before the subsequent behaviours kick in, we can challenge them.

For example, each time something crops up you could ask yourself:

Why is this happening?
What is it trying to tell me?
Has this or something similar happened before?
Why do I keep attracting the same situations?
What thoughts may be contributing to these situations?
What behaviours do I exhibit because of this thought?

Also, when ‘good’ things are happening ask the same questions so you can keep repeating what is working. "Good' and "bad" things happen all the time and when we keep our mind open to see the 'good' things as well as just focusing on the 'bad' things we can start to gain new meaning on everything that happens to us.

Being mindful of our-self and taking responsibility for all 'good' and 'bad' things that happen allows us to learn and grown from them all instead of perhaps being victims of our perceived circumstances.

Awareness of our thoughts, actions and feelings can set us free from the boundaries we have imposed on our-self. Once we break down the thoughts and beliefs that lead to the behaviour, we are empowered to make big changes in our life.

Feel free to join the forum thread and share your journey should you take this challenge.