“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.

“The poor man only descends into wretchedness when he regards his lot as a burden unjustly imposed.” — As A Man Thinketh

My friend, Steve Siebold, says that the fastest way to move from a “middle-class consciousness” to a “world-class consciousness” is through the use of the power of gratitude.

Now most of us have heard our entire lives about how important it is to “count your blessings.” I certainly have. But for most of my life I did just the opposite — I focused on the lack in my life. I know it won’t surprise you if I tell you that the more I focused on what I didn’t have, the more of the same was attracted into my life.

After I began to study the principles of James Allen, Napoleon Hill and the other great classic writers, I adopted a habit of opening and closing each day with a “gratitude period.” That period may last for just a few minutes and it has even lasted for hours. But the effect in my life has been extraordinary.

Back when I never expressed thankfulness for anything I had, I would pray fervently to my Creator, asking for all the things I thought I needed. At one point there was such great (perceived) lack in my life that we were evicted from our home and I lost the only automobile I had left.

Now that I try to focus on all of the things that I am thankful for, I NEVER pray for anything for myself (I still ask for blessings for others). Yet today, I enjoy incredible abundance and harmony in my life, and it seems to be growing at an increasing rate.

Orison Swett Marden, writing in the 100-year-old classic, How to Get What You Want said, “People who take life sadly, who see nothing “to rejoice and be glad” about, not only lose a tremendous amount of pleasure and real enjoyment, but they seriously cripple their ability and impair their success. They are not normal, and, therefore, can not reach their maximum of strength and efficiency.”

And that’s worth thinking about.