Clear Your Mind First

                     GARBAGE-DUMP THINKING.
" A number of years ago I heard a philosopher say, "You

are where you are because that's exactly where you want

to be." I bought that idea and even repeated it to others.
Then, late one night I was in Birmingham, Alabama,

driving to Meridian, Mississippi. It was important that

I be in Meridian the next morning. Since the roads were

under repair, I stopped at a service station for

directions. The attendant pointed out the best route

for me and even drew me a map. He assured me that if I

followed his map, I would be in Meridian with time to

spare. I followed his directions exactly and yet, one

hour later, I was 45 miles farther from Meridian than I

had been when he gave me the directiions. Obviously, I

was not there because that's where I wanted to be. I

was there because somebody had given me the wrong

directions.
 I might say the same thing to you. If you're

broke, desponded, and down in the dumps, if you're not

getting along well with your family or in your career,

I just cannot believe that these are the conditions

and circumstances you really want. There is a chance

that maybe, just maybe, you've been given the wrong

directions which influenced you negatively and caused

you to suffer from Garbate-Dump Thinking. (Now don't get

too cozy with the thought that any and all of your

problems should be dumped into someone else's lap

because, as you shall see--if your past situation could

possibly be "blamed" on someone else--your future growth

and progress is palced squarely on your shoulders.)
Let me explain: In a large southern city there is a

magnificent new shopping center that stands on the

former city garbage dump.For over a century no one saw

this location as anything but the "garbage dump." About

twenty-five years ago, however, some progressive-minded

citizens started "seeing" that location as a beautiful

new shopping center. Immediately they stopped

dumping garbage and started hauling good, clean fill

dirt and dubping it over the century-old garbage. They

packed it down with huge highway rolling machinery until

a solid foundation was prepared. It was on this

foundation that they built a magnificent new shopping

center. But really, this shopping center is built on

garbage, isn't it?

 I tell this story because the chances are that

over a period of time, people have been dumping

"garbage" into your mind. What you must understand,

however, is that it doesn't really matter if garbage has

been dumped into your mind in the past. In fact, it

doesn't even matter if others, through either malice or

ignorqnce, have built low ceilings over you. You can

overcome all of that "garbage," so I'm going to say to

you, "Happy Birthday," because today is the first day of

the rest of your life. The past is over and the fact you

have read this far indicates you are now in the process

of building a foundation for a greater future.
 Warning! "Garbage" has probably been dumped into

your mind for a long time. Realistically, we should

understand that a person suffering from malnutrition

cannot be restored to complete physical health by eating

well-balanced meal, regardless of how big or good it

might be. So please understand that for the moment all

we can do is cover that "garbage" with thin veneer of

positive thinking and right mental attitude. The chances

are good that periodically some of that "garbage" will

pop through the veneer and you will suffer again from

"stinkin' thinkin'." And since we live in negative

society, we will always have the problem of fresh

garbage being dumped into our minds on a daily basis. A

friend, an acquaintance, or an overheard conversation

can drop a couple of fast loads of garbage into our

minds. We switch on the radio  or the television and

boom-boom , somebody else dumps fresh garbage into our

minds."

~ by ZIG ZIGLAR