Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life: How to Unlock Your Full Potential for Success and Achievement Read Online Free PDF Page A

you like yourself, the better will be your self-image and subsequent performance, and the faster you will move toward becoming more like your self-ideal.
    The best news of all is that there is an inverse relationship between your level of self-esteem and your fears of failure and rejection. The more you like yourself, the less you fear failure.
    The more you like yourself, the less concerned you are with the opinions of others, and the less you fear criticism. The more you like yourself, the more you make your decisions based on your own goals and standards, and the less you care what others think or say.
    ■ CONTROL YOUR INNER DIALOGUE
    Just as you become what you think about, you also become what you say to yourself . The most powerful words you can repeat to yourself, especially if you are feeling tense or uneasy about an upcoming event, are the words, “I like myself! I like myself! I like myself!” Whenever you say, “I like myself!” your fears diminish and your courage increases. The words, “I like myself!” are so powerful and positive that they are immediately accepted by your subconscious mind as a command. They instantly affect your thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. Your body language immediately improves, and you stand straighter.Your face becomes more positive and cheerful.Your tone of voice becomes stronger and more confident. You feel better about yourself, and as a result, you treat everyone around you in a warmer, friendlier way.
    You begin the process of changing your thinking and changing your life by going to work on your self-concept. You start by developing a clear, positive, exciting, and inspiring self-ideal, consistent with the very best person you can imagine yourself becoming. You develop a positive self-image by imagining yourself performing at your very best in everything you do. Finally, you develop high and unshakable levels of self-esteem by loving and accepting yourself unconditionally as a valuable and worthwhile person.

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    CHANGE YOUR THINKING, CHANGE YOUR LIFE
    ■ EXAMINE YOUR BASIC PREMISES
    Most of your thoughts and your responses to the events and people of your life are determined by your basic premises . These are the ideas, beliefs, opinions, and conclusions you have come to as the result of inputs and experiences starting in childhood. They constitute not only your self-concept, but also your philosophy of life . The more adamant and convinced you are of your basic premises, the more they predict and control everything you do, say, and feel.
    If you believe yourself to be an excellent person, loaded with talent and ability, friendly and popular, healthy and energetic, curious and creative, and destined to have a wonderful life, these basic premises will lead you to set goals, work hard, develop yourself, treat others well, bounce back from adversity, and ultimately succeed. Nothing will be able to stop you in the long run.
    It is not what happens to you in life that is important. It is only how you react to what happens. It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from, either. All that really matters is where you are going. And where you are going is limited only by your own imagination. And since your imagination is unlimited, your future is unlimited as well. These are the basic premises and beliefs you need to fulfill your potential.
    ■ DISSOLVING THE MYTHS
    Unfortunately, there are several myths that we accept as we grow up that can sabotage our hopes for success, joy, and fulfillment later in life. Let’s look at these self-limiting beliefs one at a time.
    The first and worst is summarized in the feeling, “I’m not good enough.” This is the basic premise that causes feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. We assume that other people are better than we are just because, at the moment, they are doing better than we are. We feel that they must be worth more than us. Therefore, we must be worth less than them.