ABOUT YOURSELF
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IS AT THE ROOT OF EVERYTHING WE THINK, DO, CONCEIVE, FAIL AT, OR ACHIEVE IN OUR LIVES. IT IS THE BEDROCK OF ALL INDIVIDUAL ACTION. RESPONSIBILITY DOES NOT MEAN "DUTY" BURDE". IT IS NOT THE MEASURE OF OUR LIABILITY OR OUR ACCOUNTABILITY. IT IS THE BASIS OF OUR INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATION TO RESPOND TO LIFE AND TO FULLFILL OURSELVES WITHIN IT.
THE DAY YOU WERE BORN, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THERE WERE FEW OTHER PEOPLE AROUND HELPING YOU INTO THE WORLD. YOUR MOTHER WAS THERE, PROBABLY A DOCTOR, AND MAYBE A NURSE TO TWO. BUT NO MATTER WHO PATTED YOU ON THE BACKSIDE WHEN YOU CAME STRUGGLING INTO HUMAN LIFE, YOU TOOK YOUR FIRST BREATH ALONE. NO MATTER WHAT HELP YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED, YOU TOOK THAT FIRST BREATH BY YOURSELF. AND THE NEXT BREATHE, AND THE NEXT. YOU DID THAT. YOU MAY HAVE HAD SOME HELP ALONG THE WAY, BUT THE BREATHS YOU TOOK WERE YOUR OWN. NO ONE BREATHED THEM FOR YOU.
ONE DAY, EACH OF US WILL DIE. IF YOU HAVE EVER STOOD AT THE BEDSIDE OF SOMEONE WHO WAS PASSING OUT OF THIS WORLD, YOU KNOW THAT NO MATTER HOW TIGHTLY YOU MIGHT HAVE HELD THAT LOVED ONE'S HAND, THEIR LAST BREATH WAS BREATHED ALONE. WHEN YOU OR I TAKE OUR LAST BREATH, IN EARTHLY MATTERS, WE WILL BREATHE IT ALONE.
IN SPIRIT OF EVERYTHING THAT ANYONE CAN DO TO HELP, IN SPITE OF THE DOCTORS AND THE ASSISTANTS, IN SPITE OF THE NEEDS AND TEARS OF THOSE WHO STAY BEHIND, WHEN WE LEAVE, WE WILL LEAVE ALONE. THERE MAY BE ABUNDANT SPIRITS TO GUIDE US, BUT OF THOSE WE LEAVE ON EARTH BEHIND US, NOT ONE OF THEM CAN SHARE THAT JOURNEY WITH US. WE TAKE OUR FIRST BREATH BY OURSELVES, AND WE TAKE OUR LAST BREATH BY OURSELVES.
HOW, THEN, IT IS THAT SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN, IN THAT TIME WE CALL LIFE, WE EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE TO DO OUR BREATHING FOR US?
NO ONE WILL EVER BREATHE ONE BREATH FOR US. NO ONE WILL EVER THINK ONE THOUGHT THAT IS OURS. NO ONE WILL EVER STAND IN OUR BODIES, EXPERIENCE WHAT HAPPENS TO US, FEEL OUR FEARS, DREAM OUR DREAMS, OR CRY OUR TEARS. WE ARE BORN, LIVE AND LEAVE THIS LIFE ENTIRELY ON OUR OWN. THAT "SELF" AND THE DIVINE SPIRIT THAT DRIVES IT, ARE WHAT WE HAVE. NO ONE ELSE CAN EVER A SINGLE MOMENT OF OUR LIVES FOR US. THAT WE MUST DO FOR OURSELVES. THAT IS RESPONSIBILITY.
HYPNOSIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A REPLACEMENT FOR THE RESPONSIBILITY EACH OF US HAS TO MANAGE OUR OWN MINDS. IT IS, RATHER, A TOOL THAT MAY HELP US, AT LEAST TEMPORARILY, OVERRIDE SOME OF THE PROGRAMME WE HAVE THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO CHANGE QUICKLY.
BUT PRACTICING POSITIVE SELF-TALK AS A WAY OF LIFE PLAYS A GREATER ROLE THAN THAT. WITH ACTIVE, DAILY SELF-TALK, YOU, PERSONALITY, ARE TAKIG COMPLETE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOURSELF. YOU ARE CONSCIOUSLY IN CONTROL AND IN CHARGE OF THE MUCH BROADER SCOPE OF PROGRAMS THAT AFFECT EVERY FACET OF YOUR ATTITUDES AND YOUR BEHAVIOR.
THE CHALLENGES TO CHANGING
THERE ARE TWO CHALLENGES IN CHANGING FROM THINKING NEGATIVELY TO THINKING POSITIVELY. THE FIRST CHALLENGE CONFRONTS THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT POSITIVE THINKING, BY ITSELF, FIXES EVERYTHING. IT DOESN'T JUST "BELIEVING" EVERYTHING WILL WORK OUT, WITHOUT CREATING AN ACTION PLAN TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM, WILL ONLY END IN DISAPPOINTMENT, AND ANY NOTION OF BECOMING A TRUE POSITIVE THINKER WILL SOON FADE AWAY. (WE EVEN HAVE TERM FOR THINKING THAT IS TOO POSITIVE. POLLYANNA THINKING) BUT THE KIND OF POSITIVE THINKING, AND THE POSITIVE SELF-TALK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN THIS CHAPTER, IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE THINKING. IT MAY BE OPTIMISTIC, BUT IT IS ALSO PRACTICAL AND REALISTIC. THANKS TO THE LEFT PREFRONTAL CORTEX, YOUR BRAIN LOOKS FOR THE BEST SOLUTION UNTIL IT FINDS IT.
THE SECOND CHALLENGE IN CHANGING FROM NEGATIVE THINKING TO POSITIVE THINKING IS THAT JUST TELLING YOURSELF YOU'RE GOING TO BE MORE POSITIVE IN THE FUTURE DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY REWIRE YOUR BRAIN TO BE THAT WAY. YOU CAN SET A GOAL TO BE MORE OPTIMISTIC, YOU TAKE THE TIME TO REWIRE YOUR BRAIN WITH NEW POSITIVE PROGRAMS. HERE'S HOW IT WORKS.
