You Are Today What You Thought About Yesterday
At the heart of any change you want to see is an originating thought that sets an idea you have into motion. But sometimes when we’re trying to make big changes or accomplish a goal that seems complex or uncertain, we lose sight of the fact that every outcome we want is driven first by a powerful thought, followed by consistent actions. In this episode I’ll give you a simple formula you can use to remember that the key to taking meaningful actions and changing our day to day reality is our ability to first have a powerful, originating thought.
Episode Transcription
INTRO
At the heart of any change you want to see is an originating thought that sets an idea you have into motion. But sometimes when we’re trying to make big changes or accomplish a goal that seems complex or uncertain, we lose sight of the fact that every outcome we want is driven first by a powerful thought, followed by consistent actions.
So In this episode I want to give you a simple formula you can use to remember that the key to taking meaningful actions and changing our day to day reality is our ability to first have a powerful originating thought. Here we go.
EPISODE
One of the main things I like to focus on in this podcast is the power of the thoughts you have throughout your workday and how those thoughts are the drivers for actions you take which ultimately lead you to outcomes.
So in this episode I wanted to talk about something that’s intertwined with that basic idea, and here’s the concept: You are today what you thought about yesterday.
Or, if we want to think say it a little differently, we could say:
Your current physical reality is the result of the beliefs you held the day before.
So let’s break this down just a little bit.
We’ve said this before but the way you think is always at the root of your day to day work experience. Each of us has the ability to decide how we want to perceive what happens throughout our workday.
And when we pay close attention to our thoughts, what we realize is that the thoughts that we have really are what set us up for who we become.
Our experience as human beings day-to-day is the result of actions that we’ve taken, and those actions originate in and are the result of thoughts we’ve had.
Every change that we make, every action we take, they’re all rooted in an initial thought. And it’s those thoughts that set in motion a string of actions and a chain reaction that shapes who we are each day - and who we are today is a result of the way we decided to think yesterday, because those thoughts changed our reality.
The practical application of this is that if we want to have a different day to day experience, it starts not with out behaviors or our actions, but with the thoughts that we have. And we have to understand that we really are capable of making and manifesting physical changes - to our workday, to our career, to anything we want - based simply on an originating thought.
Let me give you a quick example. A few weeks ago I visited my family in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and on one of the days there I thought to myself ya know what I’d really like to go to the beach, I love visiting the shore and have great memories from my childhood of spending summer there, so result of that thought was that we ended up taking a family trip to the beach in New Jersey.
Now we found ourselves at the beach because we took a series of actions that got us there - for example, after I had the idea, I brought the idea to my family, they said yes sounds great let’s do it, we talked about how long we wanted to stay, we packed our bags, we got in the car and drove there, we stopped for gas, we talked about what beach we wanted to go to, we parked our car, paid the meter, grabbed all of our stuff, walked down to the water, and viola - we were at the beach.
All of those actions took place because a few days before while I was sitting outside, I had a thought which was - I really want to go to the beach! I have great memories of it from my childhood and college years, and it was a really strong thought because I could picture myself at the beach and laying out in the sun and swimming and taking naps and all of that good stuff.
And then I took that thought from several days before and I set it into motion and turned it into actions, and that’s what eventually got me/us to the beach and caused me to experience a new reality.
So if we wanted to express this as a formula, we’d say = a powerful thought + consistent actions = a new reality. Simple enough.
But even though it’s simple enough, here’s the challenge: we have a hard time translating and applying this very simple formula to what we perceive to be more complex and challenging changes that we want to make.
We can easily see how a thought yesterday about wanting to go to the beach can get me to the beach the very next day simply by taking a series of actions, but we really struggle with the idea that we can embrace this same simple thought process to help us achieve loftier goals that we have in our personal and professional life.
Now why is that? I think there’s a couple of reasons why we get tripped up in applying this really simple formula, but before I do that let me give you a second example that might help us think through this.
Let’s say that you want to find a way to make $500 more dollars a month in income.
So let’s just pretend for a second that in the same way I had my little mini epiphany that I wanted to go to the beach, let’s say you wake up one day and you have a thought that you want to make an additional $500 per month to support your family, put towards a down payment on a new home, get a new car, whatever it is.
So in my second example, why is it so much harder to work through the formula that I laid out? Why can’t we just trust that if I think about something, and take action around that thought, that I can achieve an outcome?
Well I think there are three main reasons why we struggle to apply this same formula, and here are the three:
First, the second example seems More “Complicated”. Going to the beach seems pretty straightforward. There are potentially more steps and actions that need to be taken in order to arrive at my additional $500 / mo than there are at me arriving at the beach, and it might seem as though it requires a lot more effort though in some cases it might not.
Second, the path to how to achieve my $500 / mo might be much less clear. Unlike going to the beach, which you’ve probably done before, you may never have tried to make an additional $500 / mo before. So the path forward to getting to that place is maybe less clear for you.
Third, there’s more uncertainty about whether it will work. I’m pretty sure I can get myself to the beach without a problem. But, when I think about something like earning an additional $500/mo, and I start to think about how I might do that and if I’ve never done it before, then the limiting thoughts in my brain start to kick in and it starts to feel risky or I start to think I might not actually be able to do that.
There’s a part of me that is fearful that it won’t work, or that I don’t know how to do it, or that I’ll do it the wrong way, or that I don’t want to put myself out there and potentially fail at it, or a whole host of other limiting beliefs that are rooted in fear and lack of information.
But what I want you to understand is that each of these three perceived differences can be addressed using the very same simple formula that I used to get myself to the beach.
Now the time it takes to get to the outcome, or the number of times I have to repeat and work through the formula may be different - maybe - but at the end of the day the same simple formula applies and will get me there.
And here’s why this same formula works:
When you continuously focus on positive and constructive thoughts that lead to actions, you set yourself up for a new physical reality that brings you closer to that outcome each day.
So Each time you have a thought that is directed at realizing that change that you want to see, it sets in motion an action that helps you obtain more information, and you move closer to the end outcome that you want. Your thoughts basically bring you into a new reality.
So that’s what I mean by what you thought about yesterday is what you are today. YOU are a product and your CIRCUMSTANCES are a product of what you’ve been thinking about.
So let’s go back to my $500/mo example. When I have the thought that I want to make $500 more per month, that thought leads to some additional thoughts like:
How can I actually do it? What are things I enjoy that I could do to make $500 more per month?
When would I find the time?
Who could I ask for input on how to do this?
What resources could I use to get some ideas?
And then if you decide to follow through and take the initiative to act on these thoughts, they lead to a series actions like this:
1. Make a list of ideas that could earn me $500 / mo (bring in one more client, build a side hustle, sign up for freelance work, maybe I’m going to make a budget and cut back on things I’m already spending on).
2. Talk to my significant other about blocking off 5 hours per week to work on this - I need some time and some space to figure out how I’m going to do it.
3. Make a list of people I know who have helped other people achieve this, or who I know have done this themselves so that I can talk to them about it.
4. Simple Google search - “how to make $500 more per month”
Maybe taking these actions will lead you to an immediate solution, and maybe they won’t. BUT, in either case, all of these actions lead you to another round of thoughts that lead to another round of actions that get you a bit closer each time to that change that you want to see.
In other words, the new physical reality I have on day two causes me to have a whole new series of thoughts that lead to a new physical reality on day 3 and day 4 and day 5.
So in this way, every thought you have the day before leads you to be a different person the next day with more information and better equipped than you were the day before.
Now the challenging part will be that along the way you may encounter and you probably will encounter interferences that will prevent you from seeing the kind of immediate progress you want to make each day, or that might interrupt the initial excitement and clarity you had about the idea:
You might find it challenging to find an idea that will earn you $500
You might find it challenging to actually build in the 5 hours you want a week to make this work
It may take you some time to find the right person who can give you the advice you need
But here’s what I want you to know:
The people who don’t make it to the outcome they want are the ones who stop putting strong thoughts behind the change they want to see. Because when you stop putting strong thought behind the change you want to see, then your actions no longer align with those thoughts and you stop making progress. You stop becoming a different person on day 2, because you stopped putting energy into strong thoughts on day 1.
If you wanted to make an extra $500 / mo, there simply is no good reason that you couldn’t do it. Now it might take longer than you want, there might be more steps you need to take, and you might have to confront some fears you have around it, but there simply is no reason you can’t experience that.
So what I want to leave you with is a request that you focus on this formula.
A powerful thought + consistent actions = a new reality.
And I want you to think about one great idea you’ve had that relates to changing your workday or the trajectory of your career.
So something in the recent past where you’ve said: I wish that X was different. And when you thought about what it would be like to have X in your life, it got you excited in the same way I got excited about going to the beach.
Is it that you want more freedom in your workday?
You want to stop worrying so much?
You want to feel more organized?
You want to make more money?
You want to spend more time with your family?
What’s a change you want to see.
Then what I want you to do is think about the simple formula - a powerful thought + consistent actions = a new reality - and I want you to think about that formula in the context of these three key concepts.
Key Concept # 1: Recognize that the change you want to see originates with a strong thought (I want to go to the beach / I want to make $500 more per month, I want a workday that’s filled with less worry and more exciting work, whatever it is for you). You have to recognize that this originating thought is what sets everything else into motion. So remember that You are today what you thought about yesterday.
Key Concept 2: What comes between the thought and achievement of the change/outcome is simply a set of actions that you’ve taken. Those actions give you more information that you can use to have more originating thoughts. But we can’t reinforce or inform that originating thoughts unless you take consistent actions.
Key Concept 3: It’s ok if you don’t know all the steps to get you there. It’s impossible to know and plot out all of the steps with precision. The most important part is continuing to put a powerful thought behind everything you do. If you get stuck, it means you need more information - and you can get that information through being intentional about taking more action.
If you haven’t already listened to it, I’d encourage you to check out Episode 11 on the difference between plans and planning which might give you some good ideas on how to do this.
So to sum it up, remember that if you want to have a different reality tomorrow, it starts with changing the way you are thinking today. So consider this formula, and think about one thing you want to change, and decide what actions you’re going to take from there.
Go have a great workday.