What You Do to the Other, You Do to Yourself

The power of your subconscious mind

The thoughts you dwell on expand and eventually fill your heart. My heart was ready to explode with anger.

I was unfairly victimized, and now I had a whole community against me. I couldn’t find relief from the resentment I felt.

Over time, this resentment distorted the lens through which I viewed life.

Then, on one particularly desperate day, I came across The Power Of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy and discovered a way out.

How the subconscious mind works

Your conscious mind is the “watchman at the gate,” protecting your subconscious mind from false ideas.

The thoughts and images you continually hold in your conscious mind become imprinted into your subconscious.

It’s the repetition of a thought that programs it into the subconscious mind. The subconscious is not designed to separate fact from fiction; it simply accepts the messages most often repeated as true.

Those often repeated messages become subconscious beliefs that drive your behavior.

What you do to the other, you do to yourself

When you think resentful thoughts about someone, you send your subconscious mind a negative message, leaving a negative imprint.

To the subconscious mind, thinking evil of someone is thinking evil of yourself.

Likewise, if you think positively about someone, you will imprint positivity into your subconscious mind. What you do to the other, you do to yourself.

If you think resentful thoughts with enough repetition, your subconscious will adopt resentment as part of your mental operating system.

I was continually hating on my oppressors, and it was poisoning my mind and ruining my life.

“The only path by which another person can upset you is through your own thought.” ― Joseph Murphy

What you see in others is a reflection of yourself

I thought my anger was righteous. After all, I was the victim. They are wrong; the truth was on my side!

But it didn’t matter if I thought those resentful thoughts were justified. The subconscious does not understand concepts like fair or unfair. The brain simply believes what you tell it the most.

All my thoughts of resentment were only making my situation worse.

And I couldn’t blame my thoughts on anyone else; I was responsible for my reactions and how I thought.

“You are the only thinker in your world, and your thoughts are creative. Whatever you think about the other person, you are also creating in your life.” — Joseph Murphy

Other people are just a mirror; what I see in them is a reflection of myself.

I thought the problem was out there, but that perspective was the problem.

I needed to develop new beliefs about myself, others, and my situation. I needed to replace those thoughts of resentment with thoughts of goodwill.

Until that happened, things would only get worse.

Replacing my old thought patterns

“Bless them that curse you.” Matthew 5:44

So here’s what I did to get myself thinking in a better way…

First, I wrote affirmations to repeat daily to reprogram my subconscious mind. Affirmations that would replace any thoughts of resentment.

The instant a negative thought about anyone entered my mind, I would read these affirmations. Believe me, in the beginning, I read them a lot.

I make it a point now to read affirmations when I wake up and just before I go to bed.

Second, I use this visualization technique:

I picture someone I resent and tell them, “I send you vibrations of goodwill. I send you nothing but good vibes. I bless you. I wish you well.” I feel the goodwill energy flowing through me to whoever I think of. I imagine them smiling, enjoying life, and doing well.

Then, I expand that, sending goodwill vibes to everyone — the entire world.

The best time to do this is as you drift off to sleep. So, I send vibrations of love, peace, and goodwill to the world every night.

Third, I was diligent in guarding my mind. Whenever I caught myself beginning to think negatively about someone, I would stop and recite my affirmations to replace the unwanted thoughts.

Discipline is essential to keeping your mind on track. You may sometimes slip up, but just get yourself back on track. Repetition is key.

Change your mindset, change your life

My years of dwelling on the negative side of others didn’t work, so I flipped my perspective.

I didn’t ignore the negative; instead, I looked for and embraced the positive in others. I knew everyone had a good side, and that’s where I would fix my focus.

Things didn’t turn around overnight, but the changes slowly became evident.

I’ve watched nagging health problems slowly disappear as my body was released from self-induced stress.

Relationships were restored as others witnessed the change within me.

Most importantly, I now have peace of mind. The anger that hounded me is gone. I have a clear, free mind.

I‘m sending goodwill out into the universe, and it’s coming right back to me.

Flipping negativity on it’s head

With repetition, these new empowering beliefs will replace the old ones in your subconscious.

When writing your new self-talk it’s essential to:

• craft affirmations that resonate with you.
• repeat your affirmations with passion.
• have faith. Believe these affirmations will work for you.
• be consistent. Repeat your affirmations every day.

Every time a negative thought crosses my mind, I replace it with a powerful, positive thought. I enjoy the feeling of peace and empowerment this habit gives me.

I am worthy of every good thing life has to offer. I enjoy feelings of happiness every day. I choose to surround myself with peaceful, uplifting people. I guard my mind against negativity and only allow positive energy into my heart.

I radiate vibrations of goodwill into the world, even towards those who may be my adversaries. I bless my enemies, I wish them well. As I give, so shall I receive, and I know the energy I put out into the world will come back to me.

I know my worth, and I acknowledge that I am valuable. I am worthy of respect, and I enjoy treating myself with respect.

I recognize the beauty around me, even when I am in the presence of toxic people. I can’t change anyone else but I can and I will continue to be positive no matter what. Everyone has a good side and I always look for the good in others.

I refuse to allow anyone to bring me down. I make it a point to be happy and positive no matter what happens. I always look for the best and I find it. I am powerful, and no one can take that away from me.