Gary Player is a retired South African professional golfer.  He was often asked what he thought of a course when he was on a pro tour.  He shared how he used to tell people what he thought of it.  He stopped doing that when he discovered that people got very upset when he told them the truth.   He stated, “Now I tell them all they’ve got the greatest course in the world.  And, you know something, this has helped me.  If I think the course is lousy, I play lousy golf.  But if I convince myself it’s  great, I don’t spend my time out there thinking how bad it is.”

What an insight for life!  We don’t have what we might consider a great life every day.  Situations arise, difficulties come, disappointments happen.  It is our choice how we view each day.  We can look at the course ahead of us and see boulders, mountains and rough terrain, or we can look ahead and see attainable challenges that we conquer as we approach each one.  One of the most impactful truths I have encountered is that what we think affects everything in our life.

Earl Nightingale shared in his recording, The Strangest Secret, how the earth doesn’t care what we plant in it.  It will produce whatever we plant – healthy vegetables, beautiful flowers, or if untended or cared for, it will produce weeds.  Our mind is the same.   It will produce whatever we “plant” in it.  If we plant positive, encouraging and motivating thoughts into our minds, then we will reap successful and productive results in our life.  However, if we feed our mind thoughts of fear, negativity and pain, then we will reap similar results.

You see, our thoughts create our feelings, our feelings determine our actions, and our actions create our results.  It all begins with our thoughts.

What do you think about the course of your life?  Choose to think it’s great so you can live! . . . your life to the fullest.