“Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
A wonderful yoga teacher of mine once read these words in class and they have stuck with me ever since. Basically, what the quote is saying is that every little thought that crosses your mind has the ability to amount into a word, action, habit, character trait and eventually your destiny. The importance of building small healthy habits and patterns cannot be understated, as every little thing has the ability to amount into something big over time.
Lifelong habits always begin with a thought. Years ago, there was a time that I was inspired by seeing someone in a yoga pose, and that thought became an action by my going to my first yoga class. That action became a habit through my dedication to yoga, and making the time to practice every single day. Through all the time I have spent on my mat, yoga has touched all different corners of my life, and has become a strong aspect of my character. With my passion and intention to become a yoga teacher in the near future, I have no doubt that yoga will play some kind of a role in my destiny.
On the other hand, this saying can be applied to negative aspects of your life. If you think a dishonest thought, it can easily manifest into an action. Unfortunately, dishonesty can become a habit, which will make others perceive it as your character and eventually your destiny. Pay attention to your thoughts and try to recognize if a negative habit is creeping up on you, because you don’t want it to snowball into something bigger.
The principal lesson here is that actions must be habitual in order to have an impact on your overall being. Practice awareness with your words and actions to make sure you are headed in a direction you want to be headed in. This way, we can all have a little bit of an impact in shaping our own destiny.
