True power is not about how many people you have influence over or how much money you have. True power is the ability to make your thoughts a reality. Many books recommend mental tricks like visualizations and affirmations to accomplish a certain goal. While these techniques are useful, there is something far more potent.
If you truly want to have power, develop integrity. Integrity is the alignment of thought, word and action. It means that you say what you think and do what you say.
What I am about to describe is not a technique, but a transformation of character. As a result, it is far more enduring. The following is a list of actions you can take to cultivate integrity. But remember that your actions have to be combined with intention for real transformation
Be Honest with Yourself
This is the actually the hardest one. We lie to ourselves constantly, often unconsciously. We rationalize our behavior, we make excuses, we try to evade, we avoid thinking about it. In all these cases, we are trying to protect our fragile self-image. It takes enormous courage to face up to the truth. But if you can’t be honest with yourself, how can you be honest with others?
Show Up on Time
I’m still working on this to this day. If you commit to being somewhere at a certain time, show up there on time. Every time you do this, you are signaling to yourself that your words are important. Small actions like this can really compound over time.
Don’t Lie
Don’t lie to others. Every time you lie, you disempower yourself. You tell yourself that your words don’t have strength and conviction. Once that sinks in deeply into you have literally weakened yourself from the inside.
Own up to Your Mistakes
We are human. We are all going to make mistakes. Having integrity does not mean we don’t make mistakes. But it certainly means that we have the strength of character to apologize for them.
Conclusion
About a decade ago, I went through a phase where I was obsessed with developing the ability to accomplish goals. A phrase that I often told myself during this time was “If you don’t have your word, what do you have?”.
During this time, I would go to extreme lengths to keep my word. One example that I vividly remember. It was late evening and I was taking the local train for a meditation class. The train broke down and I was running behind by about 10 minutes. Normally, it took me about 20-25 minutes to walk from the train station to the class. But on this day, I sprinted at full speed and made it in only 10 minutes. I showed up on time, soaking wet and out of breath. My classmates gave me side-eyed glances wondering what was wrong with me.
The attitude I had was that no obstacle was going to prevent me from keeping my word. Many things were accomplished during this time – losing 30 lbs of weight, changing careers, finding my beautiful wife, juggling 3+ hobbies and a lot more.
So, if you want your thoughts to have power, develop integrity. It will take you far in life and make you happier at the same time.