Over the past months, I have been very consistently trying to drive out all my negative thoughts and ways of talking. Of course nobody is 100% successful in this, but I think I have improved. Some people close to me have noticed the change. Others think I am horrible (but they have some baggage of their own to deal with).
I think I notice when I have a negative comment or thought more now because I am paying attention, so I cannot tell if I am making progress or not generally. The only indication I have of progress in this, seems to be that some positive things tend to happen more often when I feel like I am banishing negative thoughts. For example, I have enjoyed some good luck events, hugs, acceptance from potential customers, and good things like that after a period of time where I was really doing well in terms of managing my thoughts.
While it seems like a small thing, I am now focusing on the words I choose, to make those as positive as possible. One example I picked up from Les Brown is this: “Don’t say I am broke…say, I am overcoming a cashflow challenge”. Sure it is funny, but what a difference from affirming that you are in a bad way, to affirming that you are solving a problem. I am going to try to apply this better pattern to my own words and thoughts for 30 days to see what changes I notice.
Here are some other examples of the shift:
- I am not overweight…I am making changes to help me get to my ideal weight.
- I don’t hate my job…I am open to exciting opportunities.
You get the idea. Try this with me this month and see if it changes anything for you!