Most people hope that some outside force will rescue them and put their life in order. But there is no Knight in Shining Armor or Superhero who will sweep you away and make your life whole. If there's a financial issue, it's unlikely you're going to win the lottery. A person who is taking advantage of you isn't going to miraculously stop unless you start saying, "no." God can only do for you what It can do through you. The Universe isn't going to save you from yourself. Affirmations and positive thinking change your mindset to allow more good in, but you're the one who has to make the shift.

Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” It would be like someone with heart disease, who has had multiple heart attacks, refusing to change their lifestyle and eating habits yet expect their health to improve. There's an old joke about a man who goes to the doctor and says, "It hurts every time I hit my hand with a hammer." The doctor recommends, "Quit hitting your hand with the hammer."

Most people have to be pushed into a corner before they finally make the leap. You might have been getting postcards from the Universe that you need to deal with a problem at your job, a friendship or relationship that you've outgrown, or your current location. Each message you get, like not being appreciated or getting recognition for your talents, is a signal that you need to commit yourself to your well-being. You may hope that things will get better without your doing anything. But instead, they will deteriorate, and as time passes, so will your options. Ask yourself, "How bad does it have to get before I take some action?"

Deciding to go in a different direction takes motivation and commitment. Many times, life has to get intolerable before people decide to change. Most want a magic wand to take away the discomfort and put them on the new path without any work on their part. It would be nice, and occasionally does happen that way, but not very often. Change generally only happens after a lot of contemplating and planning for it.

Sometimes, when you get your mind clear, the Universe will bail you out of a difficulty. But if you haven't changed your behaviors or learned from the experience, each time you pray to be rescued, you will receive less and less assistance. It's similar to the fable of the boy who cried, "Wolf!"

When you first get some clues that something in your life needs to be addressed, you need to take stock and bring awareness to the issue. Where are you feeling uncomfortable? What's the problem? What caused it? What needs to change? Mahatma Gandhi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." What are you willing to do, and not willing to do?

Answer: Great question. It's better to focus on one area at a time when you're using affirmations. If you are working on significantly improving your health, prosperity, relationships, etc., it overloads the subconscious mind. Imagine you're given a list of major things to accomplish in a short amount of time. If you're like most people, youprobably would like to throw up your hands and walk away. That's what the subconscious does if it has too many things to change.

However, you can focus on one area, then during the day, use an affirmation that deals with generalized improvement - in all areas. Something as simple as Emile Coue's (a pioneer in hypnosis) "Every day in every way, I'm getting better and better," or even a statement that's more complex. In that case, it will actually help the subconscious by having you uplifting your overall consciousness of good. The subconscious acts on the tendency of your thinking, so if during the day, you're "tending" to think of improvement in all areas, thinking positively, then that will give the subconscious more "juice."

Emmet Fox is one of my favorite spiritual authors. He was a minister, teacher and one of the pioneers of the modern metaphysical movement. Any of his books are worth their weight in gold. Many of the chapters in this book were originally published in pamphlet form. This book contains some of his classic essays, including "The Wonder Child," "The Golden Key," "Life After Death," and "Reincarnation" in which he discusses karma.

Some of the chapters focus on a metaphysical examination of various Bible verses. "The Lord's Prayer" and "The Twenty-Third Psalm" are a couple of the Biblical references. By using these verses as his guide, Dr. Fox interprets them in a way that illustrates a deeper, richer meaning and helps to explore how they can give the reader a direction for constructive thinking. He writes simply and powerfully, but with a wealth of inspiration and understanding, helping the reader let go of concepts that are undermining their spiritual evolution.