The Virtuous Daughter Magazine Fall 2016 | Page 29

The biggest thing that influences a person on the inside is their thoughts. Our thoughts affect our attitudes and ultimately our beliefs. Some things that may influence our thoughts are the people we spend time with, movies, reading material, social media, advertisements arounds us, etc. I have tried different strategies in the past to help change the way I think. I will share one. It found me studying for the hardest test of my life. This would amount to a weekend of testing and only 40 % that had gone on before me were known to pass it the first time. I was almost done with my schooling for this particular thing, and I was tired and running out of steam. When I discovered what was required of me, and the 40 % chance that I would do it the first time, made me want to quit. I knew that if I was going to pass, and pass the first time, I had to believe in myself. At this point, I did not believe in myself and I had doubts that I could do this. Every day for 6 months I wrote in a notebook something positive about myself, the test, and my future. Some days it was only an entry or two, other days it was a whole page. I took that test. I passed it the first time. It was hard. Hardest test ever! I believe that thinking positive thoughts on this subject beforehand made a big difference! Henry David Thoreau sums it up nicely when he says,“ A single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”( http:// www. brainyquote. com / quotes)