Thoughts Shape Reality
The saying “Only by enduring the most hardship can you rise above others” contains a hidden trap: making money is hard and painful. But what if money is simply a reward for helping others solve problems? First there is thought, then speech, then action.
Parents undoubtedly love us, but the messages they convey often invisibly limit our ability to acquire wealth.
“Only by enduring the most hardship can you rise above others”—this saying is deeply rooted in countless families, and it contains a hidden trap: making money is hard and painful. This belief is rooted in the fear that “effort may not be rewarded” and in an instinctive avoidance of suffering. Over time, what it limits is our potential.
But what if we adopt a different belief: making money is actually simple. Money is merely a reward after helping others solve problems—it is society’s feedback that you have done something right. Once the seed of “making money is simple” is planted within, your mindset shifts from “how to make money” to “how to help others”—fear disappears, and creativity and initiative emerge.
For students, “getting into Tsinghua or Peking University” can also be approached in two ways. One emphasizes difficulty and sacrifice—fierce competition and redoubled effort—so fear is planted in the child’s mind first. The other treats the goal as an ordinary, achievable thing and downplays the difficulty; an optimistic attitude removes fear and instead inspires the courage to face challenges directly.
In life we often meet two kinds of people. One kind sits down and immediately complains that the world is unfair, that not making money is normal and deserved because making money is inherently hard—so they create obstacles for themselves before every challenge. The other kind, regardless of current wealth, looks for solutions whenever problems arise and believes that acquiring wealth is only a matter of time—such people are more likely to succeed at any time.
If you believe that making money is hard, this thought will be repeatedly experienced in life and become the norm—always laboring painfully to earn money.
The secret of the world is that thought determines action. Positive thoughts make action easier; negative thoughts make action exceptionally difficult. I don’t know whether the chicken or the egg came first, but I know that thought comes first, then speech, then action. If you deny something in thought and complain about it in speech, it will only get worse.
It is our thoughts that shape our reality.
To break limiting beliefs, I myself often use five strategies:
- Self-awareness — become aware of the negative beliefs deep within and face them bravely;
- Positive affirmation — do positive self-affirmation every day to strengthen beliefs;
- Set goals — set specific goals, visualize what achieving them looks like, and gradually build confidence;
- Learn and grow — continuously improve your ability to solve problems; sustained success matters more than scattered busyness;
- Optimize your environment — associate with positive people and stay away from negative emotions and oppressive environments.