The phrases we hear regularly as children become our inner voice. They impact our thinking and therefore our actions and how we live our life. If we grow up hearing positive and empowering things like "You can do anything if you put your mind to it" then we will believe we can move mountains, set our sights high and go on to do great things. But, if we had an upbringing where we were routinely told 'Don't do that', 'You can't be XXX' or 'You should/ ought to/ must xxx' these negative phrases can limit our ability to create the experiences that we desire deep within.
The brilliant thing about the way our brain works though is that you can choose to change your thoughts at any time and change your life!
By replacing old negative thought patterns with new positive ones you create new neurological pathways and can literally rewire your brain. It is as simple as noticing your thoughts, identifying whether they are supportive and then choosing to change anything that might be holding you back. Negative thinking can effectively block your success in relationships, money, health and in your career. You might think that you are a positive person, but do you notice yourself saying 'I should', 'I ought to' or 'I must'? When these words govern your actions you move into a negative process of forcing yourself to do things. As a result you end up feeling resentful, exhausted or stuck doing something you detest. Replace these phrases with 'I choose to', 'I want to' or 'I am going to'.
Another word to watch out for is 'don't'. Whenever our brain hears a command proceeded with the word 'don't' it skips straight to the following command or statement. For example if you say to yourself 'don't think of purple elephants' notice what happens. You think of purple elephants! Scrap 'don't' from your vocabulary and positively state what you want your brain to focus on instead, for example 'I don't want cake' becomes 'I choose to eat fruit'.
If you find yourself repeatedly telling yourself something negative like 'I can't get promoted' or 'I'll never fall in love' your brain looks for evidence to support that belief. Over time you convince yourself that the statement is true by gathering examples of all the promotions you've missed out on or dates that went wrong. Eventually you lose hope in ever moving up the career ladder or meeting the one. But, you can reprogramme your brain by flipping your negative thoughts to positive ones and building new neurological pathways for success. By telling yourself 'I can get the promotion' or 'the love of my life is on his/her way' then your brain starts to look at ways to support that belief. As a result you begin to notice opportunities to improve your performance or attractiveness and before you know it you bag the promotion or partner of your dreams.
Do you enjoy hearing people moan about how terrible everything is, how useless they are and how life is going nowhere? No! Negativity attracts more negativity and can derail your goals. A negative outlook can cause people to lose friends, relationships and even their career. How do you feel when you are around someone with a positive outlook? They make you feel good, are fun to be around and inspiring to talk to, right?
By gradually switching from negative to positive thinking you create a positive shift in your overall outlook, which is brilliant because this too will help you attract more positive opportunities into your life.
Want to boost this even more? Try turning your next failure into an opportunity to learn from and stay focused on things being better.
HERE ARE 3 KEY WAYS TO CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS
1.Flip your negative thoughts - Begin to notice your self talk, the little things you repeat to yourself each day and ask yourself whether they are positive or negative. If they are negative try and flip them to create more empowering positive phrases. Repeat these new phrases to yourself instead. By doing this you are literally retraining your brain to think positively and achieve success in all areas of your life.
2.Smile from the inside - Positivity is contagious. Start by imagining a big smile inside your stomach and visualise it filling your whole body. Notice how your face wants to smile as a response. Allow your face to smile. Now focus on a positive thought that will energise and uplift you today. Return to it anytime you need a boost.
3.Use positive affirmations - Inject some extra positive thoughts into your day by creating some positive affirmations to help promote positive thinking in the areas of your life where you want to make the greatest change.
Some suggestions to get you started:
Relationships: 'I am very loveable', 'I am attracting the man/woman of my dreams like a magnet'.
Money: 'I look after my money and more money is coming to me today'
Career: 'I can have the job of my dreams', 'I can create new career opportunities'
Body confidence: 'I love my body and it supports me'
Health and wellbeing: 'I make healthy choices and feel energized every day'
Home: 'As I clear clutter my home becomes a beautiful place to be'
And a final all round positive affirmation to start your day:
'I am loving, happy, healthy and energized. Good things flow to me in all areas of my life'