Whether we know it or not, we each have a box within our mind where we stuff away some of our thoughts, ideas, dreams, fears, and prejudices. We started when we were young, not even aware of doing it. It could have been something like your fear of water, or an old saying such as “if you step on a crack, you break your mother’s back,” or the idea that you’re not successful unless you are rich, or the belief that you’ll never amount to anything, or the dream of becoming a doctor despite coming from a low-income family, or so many other things. Those thoughts or ideas we unwittingly hold onto and have held close have influenced our way of living.

Do you believe your hopes and dreams cannot become real, so it is best not to bring them out of your box? Do you feel your prejudices are the only way to think? Have you allowed whatever you have put into your box to stay there without thought or review, or are they stuck there because you are unwilling to see them differently?

Maybe it is time you look inside your box to see what you have placed inside and whether any of them are worth keeping. Time sheds new light and perspective on our life experiences, so those beliefs, prejudices, hopes, and dreams may not be the same today as when you put them inside…yet they remain there.

Sometimes, it takes courage to look inside your box. Most humans don’t like change, nor do we like to be wrong about anything. We’ll fight to the end to prove our thoughts are the only way for people to think or act.

Once you take the leap and open your box, you may be surprised that it contains more negative than positive ideas and beliefs. When you consider each thought or belief, you must evaluate whether those destructive ones have become a part of who you are. This review can be painful, but when you study them, you will realize that the negative ones are based on fear, and by exposing them as that, they lose their fearfulness and power.

By exploring your box, you can tell how you live your life. Do you live like the glass is half-empty or half-full? By releasing some of what you have stuffed into your thought box that no longer serves you, you will find yourself feeling freer and less burdened in your everyday living.

This is a crucial time in our history when every thought matters. It has become so easy to blame everyone and everything for anything negative in our lives that we feel we have no power over how we live. We have forgotten that it is us alone that creates how we live. Our life is nothing more or less than a chain of our choices. Knowing this, it’s a time to get out a broom, open your mind box, sweep out what no longer suits you, and live the way you want with love, peace, gratitude, and happiness.

JOAN S. PECK is an editor and author of short stories, spiritual books, and novels and a contributing author in several anthologies. She served as former Editor in Chief for Chic Compass magazine, an international magazine based in Las Vegas.

Joan is a writer of both non-fiction and fiction books. She first began writing in 2008 as an author of spiritual non-fiction books. Prime Threat Shattering the Power of Addiction, written with her son after his death in 2005, won a Top Shelf Book Award Nominee.

Nine years later, she published her first fiction books under the pen name J.S. Peck and won a Top Pick for Spirited Woman for Death on the Strip, the first book of her six-book mystery Death Card Series. Through her strong, likable characters, Joan has become known for expressing addiction and human sex trafficking concerns throughout her fiction books. She has an extraordinary writing ability filled with humor and tenderness that brings readers into each book’s storyline, holding them hostage until the end.

Her books are available on all book sites, and her website (Writing with Soul) – www.JoanSPeck.com

Most of us have played the “Monkey in the Middle” game as kids. For those who may not know the game, it is where one stands in the middle and is designated as the monkey. The other players throw a ball to each other, back and forth, keeping it away from the one in the middle. The challenge is for the monkey to get the ball back.

That is what the problem can be for entrepreneurs who are continuously involved with their businesses. Others try to grab their attention and distract them from what they should or could be doing, and, in time, they become the monkey in the middle!

And it’s so easy to get caught like that. It usually begins with small requests from friends or business colleagues needing your assistance or wanting to socialize with you. But, like anything else, those requests may become demands unless curtailed. And by the simple fact of being a woman with our innate desire to be helpful, you may find it challenging to set boundaries and make room for yourself and your business, which continuously needs your attention.

I’ve discovered that if I give too much of myself away to satisfy another’s needs, I resent the time taken from me. Whose fault is that? I must remind myself that it’s certainly not the person asking for my attention because I control my life and choices alone.

Another perspective about becoming the monkey in the middle is that you stand alone, heightening the thought that you, as an entrepreneur, must do everything yourself. That idea is a downward spiral that gets you nowhere, for once you are afraid to let go of controlling all aspects of your business, you limit its growth and perhaps even cause its death.

As the monkey, getting those around you to support you and your business becomes your challenge. And it’s not as difficult as you may think. When you loosen the reins of your company, you release the stress and tension of doing everything yourself and begin to enjoy the camaraderie brought on by having others supporting you and creating with you.

The question often arises as to how you gather those people around you. It’s pretty simple…you ask for their support. Once they are on board, it is up to you to acknowledge and thank them in all the ways you can. Appreciation gives flight to creativity while it soothes the soul.

Like that poor monkey in the middle, no one wants to be excluded from everything around them. No one wants to feel alone—especially you, as an entrepreneur. It’s crucial to gather like-minded people around you, give back, and share the knowledge with them and others, the things you’ve learned that will help them succeed. The more you give, the more is returned to you.

Yet, the bottom line of everything in life is our choices. As a fan of Dr. Seuss, I’ll sometimes read through some of his quotes. I read this one and thought it was perfect for this article. What do you think?

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” – Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!