nakakapanibagoT. Harv Eker, author of New York Times bestseller “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” offers nuggets of wisdom useful not only in matters of gaining financial freedom but more importantly in living a better life.

Gaining age *gasp* has made me appreciate more the beauty of mind, one of man’s best ally. The human brain fascinates me for it possesses infinite power. We learned that thoughts can determine or be supportive of one’s success and happiness. Or it can be the other way around. Yet it remains mysterious up until today, despite accounts and researches made from past to present.

Eker’s principles picked my curiosity as far as human thoughts is concerned. Consider these lessons he shared in his book.

1. You are not your mind. Our minds work like a soap opera scriptwriter, treading over areas that are not bound to happen and may never happen at all. It can wind up make-up stories which can slap us with a roller-coaster ride of emotions. Fortunately, we are bigger and greater than our minds! It is only a part of us just as our toes or heart is. I was particularly in awe when Eker posed a thought-provoking question. What if your hand is your mind, scattered all over the place (oh my mind is like this!), constantly beating you up? What will you do? Cut it? Amputate your limbs?

2. The mind can be trained and managed. This is actually an answer to the previous paragraph’s question. But how is this possible? One can begin by observation. Are the thoughts produced by your mind supportive (empowering) or non-supportive (un-empowering) to your success and happiness? Well listen. You have ultimate CONTROL over what thoughts will realize your overall well-being. You have the power to stop self-defeating mental habits you have in the past.

“No thought lives in your mind rent-free” holds true because we pay dearly for our negative thoughts with our health, time, energy, money, etcetera.

3. Power thinking versus positive thinking. For people like me who have drama queen tendencies, it’s pretty normal to encounter unsupportive thought bubbles. Maybe if there’s a scanning machine available in the Philippines to do just that with me as a subject, I wonder what the findings might be. Eker suggested disregarding negative thoughts by simply saying “cancel” or “Thank you for sharing!” then replacing it with a more supportive thought. Makes real sense huh.

So what sets power thinking apart from positive thinking? Actually there’s a slight but profound distinction. Power thinking purports that everything is neutral and that nothing has meaning except for the meaning we give it. Positive thinking on the other hand, pretends everything is rosy when they believe it’s not. Power thinking recognizes our thoughts aren’t all true, but since were making up stories anyway, might as well make up a story that supports us. Positive thinking believes that our thoughts are true. Period.

So, there goes. I hope you learned something from here. :-)