Self-Improvement Archives

Where Do Thoughts Come From?

Where do thoughts come from? Why do you think about the world the way you do? Are your beliefs and opinions actually your own? While you might believe that you consciously control your thoughts, you’re often not conscious of your thoughts or why you think them. This is because you never consciously chose the thoughts you habitually think or the beliefs that reinforce them. Rather, you subconsciously adopted the thoughts and beliefs of your family, your friends, and your culture. Here’s why you don’t have complete autonomy over the way you think and how this impacts the way you interpret

How to Have a Happy Life Through Gain-Thinking

What’s Gain-thinking? How can it improve the quality of your life? What harm can come from Gap-thinking? When you compare who you are now to who you want to be, you’re resigning yourself to a life of unhappiness. Your ideal self is constantly changing, making your goals impossible to reach. Instead, you must compare who you are now to who you used to be so that you can see how far you’ve come. This simple shift in thinking makes all the difference in living a happier life. Read more to learn how to have a happy life through Gain-thinking.

Society Dictates What It Means to Be a Woman Today

How much influence does society have over what it means to be a woman today? Does being a woman mean suppressing your true identity? In the book Untamed, speaker, author, and activist Glennon Doyle explores how she freed herself from the strictures of society and embraced her true identity by rejecting the expectations and limitations society imposes on women. Doyle wants her readers to use her story as a framework to examine their lives and deconstruct societal expectations, thereby liberating themselves from the metaphorical captivity that limits their potential. Keep reading to learn what it means to be a woman

How to Visualize What You Want (& Achieve It)

How can you use visualization to achieve your goals? How can you tap into your imagination if you’re new to visualization? The social messages that you must accept—and be nothing but grateful for—have diminished your ability to imagine a new reality. According to author Glennon Doyle, embracing your imagination will help you create a better, more vibrant life and teach you how to visualize what you want. Keep reading to learn Doyle’s advice on how to visualize what you want and her steps for achieving your goals.

How to Change Your Behavior: 3 Steps to a New Life

Are you stuck in a cycle of negative thoughts and behaviors? Are you ready to break out of that cycle? In his book Outwitting the Devil, Napoleon Hill explains that we get set in certain behavior patterns. You can break out of a negative pattern and establish a new, positive one. He recommends three steps: set a life goal, choose faith over fear, and never accept less than you deserve. The overarching principle of these steps is to be confident and committed in everything you do. Read more for Hill’s discussion of how to change your behavior.

The Difference Between Internal and External Motivation

What’s the primary source of your motivation? Is your reference point yourself or others? The book The Gap and The Gain lays out the difference between Gap- and Gain- thinking, which are two ways to measure your progress and success in life. One feature that distinguishes these two mindsets is the source of your motivation. Gap-thinking is associated with external motivation (relying on standards set by others), while Gain-thinking involves internal motivation (relying on standards set by you). Continue reading to understand the difference between internal and external motivation and what impact they each have on your happiness.

How to Change Your Core Beliefs: Marriage & Family

Can you change your core beliefs? What are the benefits of changing negative beliefs about marriage and family? As explained in Glennon Doyle’s book Untamed, she achieved freedom from her captivity by systematically deconstructing her beliefs and assumptions. By deconstructing prior beliefs, she can separate herself from social structures and institutions that do not reflect who she is and what she believes. Doyle built a new family, faith, and worldview based on consciousness rather than complacency. Read on for an overview of Doyle’s advice for embracing deconstruction and how to change your core beliefs about marriage and family.

How to Resist the Devil: The 6 Things You Must Do

Do you know how to escape the devil’s influence? What practical steps can you take each day to keep him from taking control of your life? In his 1937 bestseller Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill interviewed hundreds of American businessmen to gather their wisdom on how to achieve professional success. In his follow-up, Outwitting the Devil, Hill examines how failure and bad habits keep people from reaching their fullest potential, this time through a single interview—with the devil himself. Outwitting the Devil describes how you can escape the devil’s influence and avoid being turned toward inaction and evil by dedicating

How the Law of Attraction Works: Napoleon Hill Explains

Do you know how the law of attraction works? Do you believe in it? Wildly popular, often misunderstood, and sometimes ridiculed, the law of attraction is a feature in much of the self-help literature over the past century. Napoleon Hill, who popularized the law in his books, explains that it’s simply the notion that “like attracts like.” That’s why he stresses the importance of positive thinking. Keep reading for Hill’s discussion of the law of attraction.

Why You Should Embrace the Randomness of Life

How much of life is random? What can be gained by accepting that randomness? You could understand anything in the world by learning a finite set of rules and patterns that apply to all aspects of life. That’s the premise of The Great Mental Models series of books from Farnham Street (FS), a website dedicated to timeless knowledge and insightful ideas. The Great Mental Models Volume 3 argues that we can benefit by accepting that most of life is random. The benefits include making better decisions, making fewer prediction errors, and enjoying more creativity. Keep reading to learn more about what