MENTAL DIET: THE 14 GREAT HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE (8)
6. THE HABIT OF PURE THOUGHTS
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
-SAINT MATHEW (Mathew 5:8)
When you entertain the thought, you will embrace the behavior or actions that flow from it. Purity is the foundation upon which every noble life is built upon. In the purity domain, honor is king. Impurity breeds decay; impurity breeds death.
When the imagination is immersed in purity, you become like a diamond sparkling and shining in the midst of a grossly dark and perverse world. Purity is a fountain of life wherein truth flows.
The habit of pure thoughts births purity of heart, purity of character, purity of mind, and purity of body which is the hallmark of an ideal life that sums up true greatness.
The habit of pure thoughts is the foundation stone upon which soundness of character is built. Purity of thoughts is the master key that opens up life’s greatest blessings; peace of mind; sound health; true happiness; true riches and true greatness.
The opposite of pure thoughts is impure and immoral thoughts. The degeneration of life begins with the entertainment of impure or immoral thoughts. Dwell upon; focus upon and fill your mind with positive and moral thoughts on a consistent basis until it becomes a habit.
“Thought in the mind hath made us. What we are
By thought was wrought and built. If a man’s mind
Hath evil thoughts, pain comes on him as comes
The wheel the ox behind…
…If one endure
In purity of thought, joy follows him
As his own shadow-sure.
-JAMES ALLEN
7. THE HABIT OF GENEROSITY
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who cannot pay you back”
-JOHN BUNYAN
Selfishness is the most dangerous trap that has enslaved the human race. Selfishness bears many destructive fruits such as greed. The best way to effectively conquer greed is to develop the habit of being generous.
The habit of generosity implies living to give and you cannot live to give unless you have made the decision to live to love.
The “me” mentality is the “takers” mentality and it takes away happiness and the joy of living. The “You” mentality is the “givers” mentality and it gives happiness and a rich harvest of blessings.
When you get all caught up in yourself, you will get cut off from the joy of living. When you get caught up in others, you will catch up with the joy of giving.
The generous habit entails choosing to become a channel of blessing in the lives of people. Selfishness asks; what is in it for me? Generosity asks; what can I do to help you? Selfishness asks; God when will you bless me? Generosity prays; God makes me a blessing.
When you are preoccupied with giving, good things are attracted into your life. When you are preoccupied with getting, good things repel from your life.
The start-up of the generous habit is to begin giving on purpose. Give deliberately and keep at it until it becomes a habit.
We must plan to lead generous lives every day. In whatever level of life you find yourself, there are always ways you can give to others.
You can buy somebody lunch; you can give encouragement to someone; you can give a listening ear; you can give someone a compliment; you can make someone feel valuable in your presence, the list is endless.
You can be generous with your finances, time, resources, energy, talents, and gifts. Our generosity should be towards everyone; both people close to us and even strangers.
Generosity should spring out of a pure motive or unconditional love. When we manifest generosity, we should not call attention to ourselves to be noticed by others and we should not “broadcast” our acts of generosity to be praised by people or to win their approval.
Generosity should flow out of the desire to put smiles on peoples’ faces; lightening their burdens and also for the elevation of our character.
Whenever we give, what we have multiplied; whenever we hoard, what we keep diminishes. When you become focused on yourself and your problems you become immersed in negativity and your problems escalate.
When you forget yourself long enough to think of ways you can help make a difference in someone’s life, you become a difference maker and what you make happen for others God will make happen for you.
