James Rohn once said, ?Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you've got.? Well said. It is true that perspective is everything. One person sees obstacles and another sees opportunities. It really does matter how you see or view things. Even the Apostle Paul admonishes us to be renewed or ?made over? by renewing our minds.

I couldn't help but marvel at a recent documentary I saw on the life of Nick Vukicic. Nick is a young man with no arms and no legs. He was born that way. In this documentary, he is swimming in a pool, speaking before huge audiences as a motivational speaker and totally engaged in life. Talk about perspective and a healthy belief system!

Your unique perspective and the way you ?do life? comes from what you think about the most and what you really believe. Sometimes we wonder why we do the things that we do and a better question is what do I really believe? Your behavior is simply a reflection of your deepest beliefs.

It is difficult to act outside of what you believe for any length of time. It's almost impossible. Your behavior is just following your mental orders. Your brain just gives out what it is programmed to do. That is why it is so important what we listen to and what we take in and accept as truth. Your brain can only work with the information that it has been given. So if toxicity is what it is heard, received and taken in, then toxicity is what comes out. Junk in, junk out! That's why it is so important who you hang out with and associate with. If you have negative and toxic people in your life, you may want to consider distancing yourself from them or maybe letting go of the relationship altogether!

For example, Susie was told growing up that she wasn't very smart. She heard the negative message enough that she believed it, and as a result Susie didn't apply herself academically. Eventually, she dropped out of school. Her beliefs simply told her how to view herself. Those beliefs colored her thoughts, affected her emotions and eventually her behavior. It's amazing the power of words! Unless Susie begins to challenge the mental tapes and self-talk in a new direction, she will always be affected by the negative message she has believed.

So to re-quote James Rohn, unless we change what we really believe and the way we think, we will always have what we've got. You can't afford to be passive with your thinking and have a changed life! You can't afford to live with an unchallenged belief system and live a changed life. Thinking the way you have always thought and believing what you have always believed will most likely give you the results you have always had! The most fulfilled and successful people are those who challenge themselves with tough questions, examine their own belief systems and make the effort to aggressively rid themselves of toxic thinking.