HOW TO GET ON A WIN STREAK IN LIFE
Hi, Doug Andrew here!
I want to share with you a very powerful concept that I love to teach, especially to troubled youth. My wife and I mentor troubled youth, but this is for all people.
WORSHIPPING THINGS, PEOPLE, THOUGHTS
I’ve noticed that a lot of people go through life and they think that happiness or peace or contentment is going to come from the accumulation of things. And it doesn’t matter how many things they accumulate—they’re still not happy.
Others are sort of people-worshipers. Some of these youth that I mentor almost worship a gang leader, and whatever the gang leader says to do, they will do and not even think of the long-term consequences of an action in one evening.
But I see responsible adults that also hang their hat on some movie star or some radio personality. They have “decide-o-phobia;” they have fear of making their own decisions.
Then we have those who worship thoughts. Sometimes they come in the form of clichés like, “Well, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.”
Well, folks, I snicker at that because a lot of things in my life sounded too good to be true, and they actually ended up being true. But many times we get hooked on our thoughts, and troubled youth sometimes think, “Well, I’m dumb” or “I’m stupid” and “I never get it right.”
RETHINK YOUR THINKING
No. You have to rethink your thinking. So, in life you can choose to marinate in degrading things or you can choose to marinate in uplifting things. And I find that a lot of youth are choosing to marinate in the degrading things.
Now, when you’re not at ease, that’s called “dis-ease.” And I’ve noticed that helping a lot of people through a 12-step program to overcome addictions, that addiction is a disease, a
dis-ease” of isolation.
Addictions are really an attempt, oft times, to escape or ease pains, to solve that kind of a pain, but it’s with external fixes to internal problems. Now, addicts are often just longing for love or for connection or purpose. Is that wrong?
No, the destination is correct, but they just got on the wrong train. So, the challenge is to get them on the right train that will hopefully get them on their desired destination of happiness and acceptance and connection with other people.
Now, we’re happy because of what we are, not because of what we have.
I know people who have all kinds of things, and they’re still not happy. So, happiness comes from producing values, not consuming values.
Unfortunately, many people choose to go deep into shallow things: Facebook, Twitter, and what this movie star or this rock star is saying or doing, or they choose to go shallow into deep things like eternal, life-changing principles.
GET ON A WIN STREAK
Isn’t that sad? So, here is how to get on a win streak for life, and this is a free download from Dan Sullivan. It’s called Win Streak. You can download it on your iPhone or your iPad or even an Android version.
But every night I do this habit. It takes about 60 seconds, and I think throughout the day and I think of things that went right. Not what went wrong. What went right. What were 3 Wins?
I was teaching this to some youth, and I said, “Well, maybe you exercise, and you ran 3 miles, or you did 30 pushups, or you updated your resume and added your vision to that, or wrote a gratitude letter to parents.”
You write three positive accomplishments, and then you write 3 Wins you want for the next day. Maybe you’re going to go hiking, or play racquetball, or go on a group date with your friends, or read three chapters in an uplifting book.
Do these always come to fruition? No. But at the end of the day, you just think of three things that did go right. If you were going to create an app—a game—would you want to create a game where you’re losing most of the time? You wouldn’t believe how many people set themselves up to feel like they’re losing most of the time in the game of life—everyday.
I want you to get on a Win Streak. Focus on what’s going right, instead of what’s going wrong. Teach this to those that you care about and watch their countenance change. They will brighten up.
————
ABUNDANT LIVING HIGHLIGHTS
– WORSHIPING THE WRONG THINGS – Too often, we get distracted worshiping the things that do not bring lasting satisfaction: material possessions, celebrities, shallow or misleading thoughts.
– GET ON A WIN STREAK – As you rethink your thinking, get on a Win Streak with a daily practice of writing 3 Wins (positive achievements) for today and 3 Wins anticipated for tomorrow. This affirmative focus can help you move forward in every area of life.
