I came across a great thread by @AccentInvesting on Twitter the other day of a study done on the habits of over 200 millionaires.  Here are the habits that made them ultrawealthy.

In life, we are going to face many battles.  We will face them in our work, personal lives, and most importantly in ourselves.  The biggest battle that we must win is the one fought in our own minds.  

Our mind can be the biggest obstacle to our success in all areas of life.  In fact, the mind can create almost a prison for someone who does not overcome the mind's ability to sabotage them.  How can this happen?  The mind can manifest all kinds of scenarios and thoughts that "feel" real, but are not.  It can create fear and anxiety of almost anything - and left unchecked, this can compound to a point where a person is paralyzed and becomes a shell of their former self.  

Sadly, this happens way too much to good people.  But, the good news is that the same forces that can sabotage an individual in the mind can be harnessed to reach a person's full potential.  

The question is how does one learn to use their mind and control it in their favor?

The first step is to understand that you are in ultimate control of your mind.  You decide what goes into it and ultimately what to accept from it.  It begins with recognizing debilitating and sabotaging thoughts throughout the day.  Do you put yourself down?  Do you find yourself creating scenarios of fear over things that could happen, but are unlikely to?  We all have thoughts that are negative, but it is how we recognize and act on them that matters.  And ultimately, if you can recognize the thought and know that it is not one, you want to have, you can choose to change it to the thought you want to have.  For example, if you find that you put yourself down frequently, you can begin to recognize when that happens and say "No" to yourself and redirect to a positive thought about yourself.  This will be and is awkward at first, but you'll find that after a little while, it will become second nature, and a transformation will begin to take place.

The second step is to act on the thoughts that improve you life and choose not to act on those that sabotage your life.  It comes down to action in the end.  You can recognize all the negative thoughts in the world, but if you are not willing to remove them, replace them with the thoughts you want to have, and then take action on making them reality, you will not improve.  The power is yours, but you have to choose to use it.

The last step is to commit to doing this exercise for the rest of your life.  And don't try and eat the elephant all at once.  Tackle one area first, then move the next, and so on.  Tom Ziglar once said to me, "The fastest way to success is to replace a bad habit with a good habit."  What is one bad habit you can take control of and act on for your betterment?  Focus there first until you have mastered overcoming the old with the new and the move on to the next and so on.  

Remember, the power resides in you.  The hardest part is taking those first action and then sticking with it.  If you do so, you can change your whole life and reach higher potential than you ever thought possible.  Win the battle!