“The circumstances which a person encounters with suffering are the result of his own mental inharmony. The circumstances which a person encounters with blessedness are the result of his own mental harmony.” — As A Man Thinketh

It’s amazing that when we are in dire straits the first place we look is always the last place we should look. And the last place we look is always the first place we should try.

Stop and think about it. If you’re like me, don’t you always look for the cause and the solution outside of yourself? When you start making changes to try and cure the problem, don’t you always try to change the things outside of yourself?

Go back and read the first line of James Allen’s wisdom again. The problem is our “own mental inharmony.” The problem is inside, not outside. And that’s the first place we always need to look.

Try this exercise we taught in the As A Man Thinketh Study and Act program: Identify one type of habitual thinking that you have. For instance, do you habitually think you won’t have enough money to go around…or….are you always thinking that you never have enough time to get all the things done you need to do. After you’ve identified the thinking pattern, take a 3×5 card and write out the OPPOSITE of your habitual thinking. For instance, “I am surrounded by abundance. I always have enough money and enough of everything I need.” Put the card in your purse or pocket. For the next week, be alert to every time you fall into the old, habitual thinking. Take out the card and read it — and, if possible, read it aloud with MEANING. Do it for a week and I promise you’ll be happy with the results.

William James, the great psychologist of the early 20th Century knew the solution is always to go inside: “There is but one cause of human failure. And that is man’s lack of faith in his true self.”

And that’s worth thinking about.