#FreshTake – ‘The secret of life’
Thoughts lead to feelings, which lead to actions which lead to consequences
Look all you like, but the key to the jail is never kept in the cell. This one sentence fully explains why so few people find true happiness in their lives.
They don’t understand that no one can think their way to a happier life. They never realise that their thoughts alone, build the mental prisons they willingly live in. The secret of life is not to change the outer world; the secret of life is to change our inner world.
So where does one start?
With a simple equation that explains everything in our lives. First thoughts, then feelings, then actions, then consequences.
The ancestor of every consequence in your life can be traced back through this above equation. You lost your job (consequence) because you told the boss off (action) because you were angry (feeling) because he didn’t appreciate your work (thought). The negative thought led to a negative feeling, which led to a negative action, which caused a negative consequence. The farther one advances in this equation, the more difficult making a change becomes. Discover an error after the structure is built and you are tearing down walls.
But make the change at the beginning, while drawing up a plan and the correction is as easy as erasing a line. Similarly, in our example of losing the job, had we recognised our error at the beginning – failing to erase our negative thoughts of the boss – we would have avoided the painful consequences of rebuilding our career.
First a thought. Then a feeling. Then an action. Then a consequence. Where you mentally “live” in this equation determines the quality of your life. Those who know nothing of this equation are easy to spot.
They constantly battle the consequences they have heaped upon themselves, blaming others for the mess they have made of their lives.
Best of all are the enlightened few who inhabit the free mind. These people have discovered that refusing to embrace any thoughts, leaves a vacuum that’s soon filled with peace and clarity.
Thoughts lead to feelings, which lead to actions which lead to consequences.
