How Do Thoughts Impact Your Life?

The thought patterns we live with day in and day out have extreme influence into the direction our lives take.  Essentially, our thoughts can make us or they can break us. Eliminating negative thoughts and thought patterns is crucial to your success and happiness in life.

Now this concept is nothing new to those who are familiar with the Law of Attraction and the principles that surround it.   There are a lot of one liners that originated out of this movement that point to such.  Some of these include quotes such as:

“Thoughts become things.”

“What you think about, you bring about.”

These concepts are valid and true. Scripture even supports them when it says:

“As a man thinks in his heart…so is he” (Proverbs 27:3)

So, with this knowledge comes the understanding that the direction of your thoughts lead to the direction of your life.  Therefore, it is important that you maintain a complete awareness of what you are thinking.

Studies reveal that the average human has approximately 60,000 thoughts per day.   And for those, like me, whose brains never stop working…there can be even more than that!! 

Because there are so many thoughts running through your mind each day, it is next to impossible to monitor them all, but you can monitor the climate of your thought life by being aware and attentive to your feelings.  Thoughts influence your feelings, therefore if you are feeling bad, angry, depressed, or frustrated, this can be a “red flag” for you to pause and trace that feeling back to the thought processes or patterns that led you down that path to begin with.

Left unaltered, negative thinking can lead to negative living.  The reason for this is simple – negative energy creates or attracts more negative energy, and ultimately – negative outcomes.  Therefore, once identified, it is essential that you consistently practice taking immediate and focused action to correct your thinking and bring it back into alignment with the direction you want your life to take…a positive peaceful and focused direction.

Techniques  To Eliminate Negative Thought Patterns and Change Your Life

There are many techniques you can use to refocus yourself, eliminate negative thought patterns, and bring balance back to your thought life.  Some of the techniques I personally use and have found to be most effective are prayer, meditation, breathing exercises, and self-talk (aka: affirmations or desire statements).

All of these help me recenter my thought patterns and bring my thoughts into alignment with my intended goals and desired direction for life.

For the purposes of this post, I want to focus on one of these, and we will save the others for future discussions.

Self-Talk and Your Thought Life

To really demonstrate the power and effectiveness of self-talk, I want to share with you a small portion of my personal journey with this technique.

Millionaire Mentors: Steven Thompson, Krista Abbott, Brad Hager, and Susan Walsh

I first began using self-talk about a year ago after a millionaire mentor of mine (Brad Hager) shared with me the importance of how it had impacted his life.  As is typical with most “new habits” we try to form, it faded away after about two months.  Amazingly, this happened even though I was seeing positive results with the actions I was taking with self-talk.  There are lots of reasons this can happen, but again that’s another post for another day…on with the story!

About a month ago, I began to notice a significant increase in negative thought patterns, so much so that it was impacting my motivation to pursue those things I am most passionate about.  Immediately, I sat down and started to write out some positive self-talk that would help me combat these things.  And, within two weeks, I had instant results of overcoming and eliminating that particular thought pattern in my life.

I have seen the power of self-talk and I know it works. If your self talk is negative, then your results will be negative.  If your self talk is positive then your results will be positive.  If you really want to have the outcomes and results you desire in your life, then you MUST recognize and eliminate negative thought patterns, and replace them with new ones.

This is called “Renewing Your Mind”.

“…be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2)

I would encourage you to identify areas that you are know you are struggling with positive thinking in and write out your own self-talk for those areas you are most passionate about.  It’s easy to do this, I’ll give you a few easy steps and some examples here:

10 Easy Steps To Creating Your Own Self-Talk

1. Get about 10 index cards (3 x 5 size),  a piece of scratch paper, and a writing instrument
2. Draw a line down the middle of the scratch paper
3. Think about the things you want to see manifest in your life and jot those down in column one of the scratch paper.  For example:  I want to make more money.”
4. Think about the negative thought patterns you have that block those things from coming into your life and jot those down in column two of the scratch paper.  For example, “…why can’t I ever seem to get ahead in life.”
5. Repeat this until you feel satisfied that all you want to manifest in your life is represented in column one and all the things that block you are in column two.
6. If you have more than 10, then you may want to narrow your focus and identify the Top 10 and save the rest for later.
7. It is recommended that you categorize the 10 items if possible.  For example: using cateogories such as “feelings”, “mindset”, “finances”, “relationships”, etc.
8. Next, take your 3 x 5 cards and one by one begin to write a positive statement that addresses the desire you have written in column one and counteracts the negative thought patterns you have identified in column 2.  For example, “I am a money magnet, money flows to me easily and effortlessly.  It feels great to be able to give generously and help others with my excess money.”
   
9. Make sure you use “feeling words” as much as possible to support the visualization that goes with your self talk.
   
10. Repeat this until you have your 10 cards written.

What To Do With Your Self-Talk Cards

I make it a habit to read each of my cards each morning when I wake up and each night before I go to sleep.  The reason for this is that scientific studies have shown that these are the times when your brain is most open to receive and retain the information presented to it.  So it is very important that the first thing you think about each day and the last thing you think about each night is positive.  Then these thoughts can work into the deeper and more influential portions of your brain.

Now, when reading them practice reading with these steps:’

1. Read silently to yourself and think about what you are reading
2. Read it out loud so that you can hear yourself saying it.
3. Pause and purposefully feel how the manifestation of that statement will feel when it arrives in your life.
4. Hold that feeling for at least a minute.
5. When ready move on to the next card and repeat until finished.

Keep your self-talk cards handy and accessible throughout the day.  Frankly, you will want to keep these cards with you as much as possible.  I actually carry mine around in my computer bag (which goes with me almost everywhere I go). Anytime you identify some feelings that are counter-productive to the positive energy you want to generate in your life, you can pull out these cards and read through them.  It is best to read them aloud so that you hear yourself saying them…this helps solidify the belief and build your faith.

“…faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word…”  (Romans 10:17)

If you are in a public place or around a lot of people and are not able (or not comfortable) reading them aloud, then that’s fine.  Read them silently to yourself and focus all of your energy on feeling what that statement would feel like when those things manifest in your life.

Examples of Self-Talk

Category:  Feelings

I am aware of my feelings and when they are moving me away from my goals.  I quickly redirect my thoughts to achieve positive, winning, and profitable outcomes.  I enjoy being open and receptive to the gifts and abundance flowing into my life.

Category:  Belief System

I live a “no-limits” mindset.  I believe I can have, do, and be anything I want.  There are no limits to the level of success, happiness, money, love, relationships, good opportunities, or blessings that can come into my life.  It feels great to live so free and abundant.  I believe!

Category:  Gratitude

I notice all of the abundance and beauty around me.  I feel gratitude for the abundant blessings in my life and for all of the resources available at my finger tips.  I receive all of the gifts and good things God brings into my life.  I freely and generously share with others who are in need.

Category:  Passion

I live my passion every day.  It feels amazing to love what I do and to have people pay me for it, and pay me well.  I am fulfilled and successful because I follow my heart and live my passion daily.

Summary and Call to Action

Well my friends, I know this has been a long post, but I felt the need to share this information with you to help you on your journey to success.  I encourage you to take an hour out of your day to take these action steps outlined above and create some positive self talk for yourself.  Create a habit in your life and watch your mind get transformed and your life changed.  I truly believe that if you do this, and do it consistently that you will see the results and the manifestations of the things that you desire begin to come into your life faster and easier than you ever imagined possible.

If you have found this post helpful, I ask that you bookmark it, digg it,  share it, re-tweet it, and leave some comments below.

Passionate About Your Success!!

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Defining moments. We’ve all had them and can recall specific times in our lives when something of great significance happened that catapulted us to the next level of success or pushed us to go the extra mile even when we didn’t feel like it. Often times they exist in our memory as vivid and specific as the moment they occurred. This is how strongly they have impacted us.

Moments can be defining, when they are the right moment at the right time. Equally as significant, however, can be those moments that are not right or which come at the wrong time. When handled appropriately, even the wrong moments can benefit us and help us achieve success. If not handled appropriately, however, these moments can actually prevent us from reaching our goals or delay success from being released in our lives.

In today’s video, I talk about how to recognize your moments and evaluate them to determine if they are right for you when they arrive, and then how to handle them appropriately.   Take a few minutes and watch the video, then leave me your thoughts on defining moments below.

Remember, not every opportunity or “moment” is the right one for you.  It may sound great and be fantastic, but if it’s not yours, then it will only deter you from your goals, rather than help you reach them.  Focus in your pursuit is essential in order for success to be realized.

Yours in Success,

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When I was a kid, I used to go and visit my Aunt Betty and Uncle Bud in New Mexico during the summer months. It was always an adventure, one that I looked forward to greatly. I called Uncle Bud, my cowboy uncle. He loved his horses and enjoyed sharing that love with others. I was no exception. When Uncle Bud went to practice his ropin’ he would let me tag along and open the cow chutes for him. I thought I was pretty special straddling that fence and opening those cow chutes. It was fun watching him chase those cows around on that horse, lasso swinging around in the air and dry desert dust creating a thick fog around the rodeo arena.

One day after he had finished ropin’ I wanted to ride, being so young and a horse novice at best, Uncle Bud saw fit to give me a ridin’ lesson. Now I had been on small horses and ponies before, but never the gia-normous horses that Uncle Bud had. His horses were the biggest I had ever seen in my young life. As I stood next to the majestic beast I was preparing to mount, the task looked impossible. The stirrups of the saddle were eye level and honestly, it was quite intimidating to be standing there trying to figure out how I was ever going to get on that horse. Nevertheless, I stood, studying the situation, then gave it my first shot.

It was a small challenge to get my foot in the stirrup, but I finally got it there. Afterwards I stood, suspended in mid-mount, trying to figure out what to do next. Not knowing what else to do, I started hoping up and down on one foot, psyching myself up for that final forceful jump that would propel me into the saddle. Finally, I was ready – and with one giant push I was in mid-air. Then just as quickly as I went up, I came back down. There I was, laying in the desert dust with Uncle Bud towering over me, he reached down with his cowboy hands and helped me up. As I was brushing myself off, he said “That’s not how you get on a horse.” After a few instructions and a demonstration, he motioned for me to try again. A few more tries later, and I still was not on that horse. Feeling defeated I looked up at Uncle Bud, and told him I didn’t want to ride anymore and I was ready to go home. Besides the sun was starting its descent into the western sky and it would be dark soon.

Uncle Bud wouldn’t hear of it, he looked at me sternly, pointed his long cowboy finger at me and said “We aren’t leavin’ here ’til you get on that horse. I don’t care if you ride or not, but you’re gonna get on him and I’m not going to help you.” I could tell he meant business. At that point, I don’t know what I was more afraid of – the horse or Uncle Bud. He just stood there hand on his hips, looking at me. After a few minutes, of our little standoff he said, “Well – are we gonna be here all night or are you getting on that horse?” I looked over my shoulder at the horse, then back at Uncle Bud and in that last glance I mustered enough courage to try one last time. I walked over, pretended to adjust the saddle (like I knew what I was doing), looked back at Uncle Bud again, then in one not so smooth move I managed to pull myself into the saddle. I felt so proud. There I sat, high looking around at the beautiful desert terrain surrounding me. For a short moment I thought I could conquer the world.

If I had been writing a blog when I was 12, my edition that week would have said, “Today I Learned how to get on a horse.” But really, there was much more to that riding lesson than mounting a horse.

What did I really learn that day?

As I have reflected recently on my memories of Uncle Bud, I have realized how many life lessons were imparted to me that afternoon.

I learned determination – to not quit until you have done what you set out to do.
I learned perseverance – to never give up no matter how hard something seems.
I learned independence – to believe in your own strength to accomplish what you want
I learned persistence – to keep trying until you succeed.
I learned not to underestimate myself – because even when I don’t believe in myself, there are people around me who know I can do it.
I learned confidence – to not be afraid of a challenge.
Finally, I learned that when I fall off of my horse, the only thing to do is to get up, brush myself off and try again.

Uncle Bud is not with us anymore, but the lessons he taught me that day will live on with me forever. I don’t know if it was his military training that made him push me so hard, or just his nature…but I’m glad he did it, because it was a lesson I will never forget.

Today, I learned how to get on a horse.

Is there a person or circumstance in your life that has inspired you or caused you to want to keep going when you wanted to give up? I would love to hear about it. Leave me a comment and share with our community.

Proverbs 22:6
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

Well, Happy New Year to you!

It’s that time again, when we all begin our journey into a new year, with new plans, new “resolutions”, and revised hopes and dreams.  Over the past several days, I have heard more people than I can count say “This is the year. for …(fill in the blank)”.

They beam as they tell me what they are going to accomplish this year through their “resolutions”.  I’m excited for them, but can’t help wondering – did they have the same resolutions last year?  Or, the year before?   And then of course, with some of them, I KNOW they had the same resolutions last year.

Now, those who “know I know” this usually follow up their resolution announcement by saying, “I know I said that last year, but this year is going to be different because…(fill in the blank again)”.   They’re excited and pumped up and they do OK…for a week or two.  The really pumped ones do OK for a month or two…

Then there are others…

Often, when I ask them “HOW” they are going to achieve their resolutions, and what steps have they planned to take each day to achieve them, I find they have no idea what I’m talking about and many of them haven’t even given it much thought.

Now, how do you think that’s going to turn out?

Sad to say, but resolutions with no “how” and no “plan” are likely to fade away with the party hats or as soon as “the new” wears off of the “new year”.

That’s why, I have chosen in my life to JUST SAY NO TO NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS!!

Instead, I choose to live a lifestyle of creating new goals and new plans for myself.  This is a continual practice I have in my life and it does not require me to wait for a specific day each year to do it.  I can create goals and plans for myself any day, of any month, of any year.

I have short term goals and plans, which are usually achieved within the year and I have long term goals and plans, which are usually part of my two year or five year plan.

In my FREE video series on Secrets to Unleashing Success” I talk more about this and go over in detail how to set and develop your goals into specific action steps and achieve success.  If you are looking for tips on how to successfully fulfill your “resolutions” or set, keep, and achieve goals for yourself, then you can get that series HERE

So, my friends – I invite you to join me in my campaign to “Just Say NO!” to New Year Resolutions! And, choose to Say YES to living a life of goal setting, planning, and achieving.

I would love to hear your thoughts.  Leave me some comments below and let me know your thoughts on resolutions and goals.  I would love to hear what some of your goals are and what steps you have planned to achieve them.

And, as always – retweets are greatly appreciated! 

Wishing you much success in 2010!

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