Manifesting with the Law of Attraction

Somehow it has become ingrained in us that negative thoughts are more realistic than positive thoughts. This is pure madness, especially since over 90% of what we worry about never happens!

We have to get our heads around the fact that being positive is actually far more realistic than being negative. This is such a difficult concept for most of us to grasp, and we have to purposefully work hard to re-train the brain to think more positively.

Think of it this way: if your body became out of shape you would probably view physical exercise as an effective way to improve its condition—and we must begin looking at the health of our mind in the same way.

Here are 7 valuable exercises that you can start implementing right now to re-train your thinking:

1. Use Verbal Affirmations EVERY Day

An affirmation is a positive statement that something is already happening, and is a very powerful tool you can use to shift your internal dialogue from negative to positive. Come up with a few statements like “I am creating a beautiful day” or “money and success flow to me” and spend 10 minutes every morning (and every night for extra credit) saying them aloud.

Come up with statements that make the most sense for you, and be sure to state them in the present tense, and in a positive form. This is self-talk in its highest sense, and can be very effective.

2. Use Positive Language

When it comes to the language we use, world-renowned author and lecturer Dr. Susan Jeffers says: “It doesn’t matter if we believe the words or not, the mere uttering of them makes the subconscious mind believe them to be true. It is as though the subconscious mind doesn’t know what is true or false, it doesn’t judge, it only reacts to the language that is being fed”.

Many researchers have shown this sentiment to be quite valid, and we must intentionally start using more positive language to shape the worldview of our subconscious mind.

3. Create a Vision Board

A vision board is the physical manifestation of the life you want to be leading. Find images of the house you desire, the places you want to travel, and the job you crave to work and tack them to a corkboard! Be creative and place words and images that are accurate expressions of your inner-most desires.

Constantly add to your vision board put it somewhere you can see it several times a day– even spend a few moments visualizing what it would be like to be living in this life you created. Isn’t this a better way to spend time than in your usual stress mode?

4. Surround Yourself with Positive Images

They could be famous quotes, inspiring pictures, or even your affirmations that you write out on note cards. The point is to always have physical reminders of things you deem positive close by. Print these items out and place them by your desk, near your bed, and in the car! When you get stressed out, give a glance to them and you will begin to get perspective on things and your mind will re-focus!

5. Say “Thank You” 50 Times a Day

Every night before you go to bed, spend 5 minutes saying thank you out loud for the experiences you had that day: the people you interacted with, the work you accomplished, the food you ate, etc…As you do this, really try and feel the gratitude emanate from within.

You can also say thank you 50 times in the morning and get yourself in an extremely grateful mindset for the coming day. These are wonderful practices for becoming more positive!

6. Listen to Inspirational Talks and Music in the Car

The car is the perfect place to flex your muscle of positive thought! Because many of us spend a lot of time driving, make an effort to listen to music that inspires you and makes you feel good. Purchase motivational personal development CD’s and play them while driving.

I mentioned Dr. Susan Jeffers above, and I recently listened to her CD “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway” in my car three times in a row! Have your car become an oasis of learning and start using the time constructively.

7. Use Positive Thinking While Exercising

If you consistently exercise, this is an excellent time to practice your positive thinking. Say to yourself over and over again: “I am strong and durable” or “I am fast and powerful” and notice the immediate affect these utterances have on your workout. It is absolutely incredible how just saying these words increases your stamina and strength.

By implementing the recommendations in this article, you can literally begin to out talk your chatterbox! With practice, negative patterns of thought will transform to consistent positive thinking.

Even though you may begin to feel better quickly, positive thinking is a life-long pursuit and it is necessary to dedicate to this ”way of life” over the long-haul. Do not get complacent, or the negative chatter box will re-appear…and you don’t want that!

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Todd Goldfarb is a certified holistic health counselor, life coach, and founder of We The Change, one of the world’s fastest growing personal development blogs.

Have you ever noticed how good things happen to good people? There’s no mistake here. These people didn’t just “get lucky” but instead were proactive within their lives as opposed to simply reacting to things as they occur. They created the experiences they have beginning with the thoughts they think. How does this work?

Positive thoughts lead to positive feelings. These feelings lead to positive emotions. These emotions then promote positive behaviors. Finally, the positive behavior creates positive outcomes. In applying these steps to a real example, it may look something like this.

Let’s say you’re thinking about how nice it will be to spend some quality time with someone you love. Just thinking about the time you’ll spend makes you feel good. Maybe you’re feeling content, loved and happy. Those feelings lead to positive emotions such as love or joy. When you’re experiencing emotions such as love or joy, you’re more inclined to behave in a way which is in line with those feelings. Maybe you’re more supportive, loving or compassionate as a result. Because you’re more supportive or compassionate, you have more to give and behave in a manner which is conducive to showing your compassion. You may be more inclined to say or do something nice to someone, simply because you feel good.

Your random act of kindness (whether through words or deeds) may just be what the person on the other end needed. Maybe they were having a difficult day and your kind word or gesture enabled them to gain a better perspective and turn their day around. The immediate outcome may be that you’ve helped another person smile, feel valued or appreciated. The more extended outcome is that they now experience more positive thoughts which then turn it into a feeling, emotion, behavior and the cycle continues.

This entire scenario all came from just one of your positive thoughts! We have millions of thoughts throughout the course of a typical day. If more of them were positive, can you see how powerful this can be?

So if becoming a more positive thinker is on your to-do list, here are a few simple ways to begin.

1.Retrain your negative thoughts. For every negative thought you have, counter it with something positive. For example, “I’m so fat” can be countered with “I’m making healthy changes every day.”

2.Show gratitude. Here’s where you acknowledge, validate and appreciate all that you have. You recognize how blessed you are and show appreciation for all that you have and see.

3.Read positive quotes/books. Get ideas and inspiration from gurus, teachers and mentors. Learn how others create a positive outlook and get ideas from them. Also, learning from others can show you how they’ve managed difficult situations. It’s a great way to learn how they’ve turned obstacles into opportunities and used adversity as a learning tool or stepping stone to achieve something better.

4.Surround yourself with positive people. Just as how laughter is infectious, the positive thoughts, emotions and feelings from others can be infectious too. Besides being more positive, these people are also much more pleasant to be around.

5.Believe. Believe you can be a more positive thinker. You will or won’t become a more positive thinker based on your belief that you can or can’t.

6.Laugh. Not only does laughter feel good, but it’s good for your health. Studies show that laughter promotes the release of “feel good” chemicals within your body which helps to strengthen the immune system. What a funny reason to lighten up!

7.Control your thoughts. While you can’t control many things, you can always control your reaction to them. That means that an unfortunate situation can be either a minor bump in the road or a complete devastation…it’s up to you.

This holiday season, there will be many opportunities to become angry and upset or enlightened and enriched. The choice is always yours but as long as you do have a choice, why not choose to become a more positive thinker. By helping yourself you never know just how many other lives you may touch as a result.

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Debi Silber, MS, RD, WHC is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Personal Trainer, Whole Health Coach, Lifestyle Expert just for moms and the President of Lifestyle Fitness, Inc. She’s known as “The Mojo Coach” because she inspires overweight, overwhelmed and unfit moms to get their mojo back! For more on the Lifestyle Fitness Program, please visit http://www.lifestylefitnessinc.com

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” ~Winston Churchill.

Gee, we have all heard enough about the power of positive thinking, right? You only get about 4 million hits when you type in the key words of ‘positive thinking’ in an I-net Google search. Positive thinking—easier said than done? Of course it is and that is also why any real worthwhile ‘how-to” advice costs a second mortgage on a 6K sq-foot, ocean-front house in Malibu.

It is Christmas time and ‘tis the season for giving. So I am going to offer a few very good inside tips about this highly touted positive thinking thing, free for the reading. How’s that for a great holiday deal? At least write back and tell me they are useful!

I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t believe in the power of positive thinking (even masochists view pain as positive!) but then again I don’t know many experts who can tell you how to do it (or are at least willing to do that for free). That is because it is all a common sense thing and common sense is always difficult to explain or teach. You see it when you see it and use it when you have it.

Here are some very valuable insights for those who would like to get a better handle on their own ability to think more positively.

1. Most thinking is unconscious. Opps, we start out with a formidable obstacle. Brain research tells us that most of the physiological/mental thinking we do is unconscious, so how do we analyze the content of our own thinking to determine where it is positive or negative? Slowing down long enough to think about your own thinking is not easy in this nanosecond instantaneous world we live in, but you will get nowhere by continuing with the speed game. So like it or not, you must discipline yourself to slow down at times to think about what you are telling yourself about another person or event, and then slowly notice the results you are getting with your own feelings and outcomes. Once or twice and you are on the right path.

2. Things aren’t always as they first appear. You might be thinking your thoughts are positive when they are actually subtly negative, or at least negative enough to attract negative, undesirable consequences. Wanting to get over an illness, lose weight, beat out another person for a promotion, or rid a marriage of conflicts are not positive thoughts that will get positive results. Thinking about good health, getting to the right weight for you, becoming an excellent employee who deserves a promotion and doing something to create a happy marriage are positive thoughts. Of course it takes a lot of discernment of your own thoughts to finally notice the sometimes subtle difference between these separate thinking styles. Again, once or twice starts you on the right path.

3. You must have ‘negative’ to appreciate ‘positive.’ The Yang and Yin of life involve both positive and negative things, or at least this and that dualistic categories, against which we compare and contrast our experiences. We probably carry things a little too far with over-ascribing good and bad-like qualities to these opposite things like wealth and poverty, beauty and homeliness, and truth and fiction. Lessening the tendency to over-flavor things as positive or negative is a very good way to release the iron-like grip that negative thinking may have on you. After all, if you don’t experience dark dreary rain you probably can’t appreciate the brilliance and warmth of sunlight. As it turns out, they are both just different sides to the same coin, just like positive and negative thinking.

4. You usually fail before you succeed. Nobody that has mastered the art of positive thinking was born that way. They had to overcome lots of negative thinking before they could succeed at being able to influence there own thinking to be more positive and get more positive results…(in becoming an over night success during a ten-year trail period). It is hard work and a gradual process, so be patient so you can be more sensitive to recognizing the moment of transition between failure and success. If you are presently failing with too much negative thinking (or getting too many negative results from your thinking), it is mainly so you can learn to succeed with more positive thinking, maybe sooner than you think.

5. Questioning basic assumptions is good. Personally I believe common sense starts when you finally wake up to the unavoidable realization that what you think you know may not necessarily be so. Then you start questioning your own basic assumptions and other things you are certain to be so, only to find out the real truth, like some of these other useful insights. One good assumption to question in your pursuit of positive thinking is the real value of the consequences you are getting from whatever thinking you are doing. When you don’t like the results you are getting, just trace them back to the thinking that created them.

6. You don’t get what you want until you want what you have. This is so true that it is boring, but never-the-less there is a lesson that must be learned. One of the best caveats of accessing the power of The Secret (Law of Attraction), is that it is a very good practice to show appreciation of what you do have. Even when I was homeless, jobless. loveless and penniless, I did have good health humor and friends. I certainly don’t have it all now, but I do have much to be thankful for that I am not bashful or frugal in acknowledging and appreciating (or as our back door sign says. “We may not be all together, but together we have it all.”)

7. Don’t be too hard on yourself (unless you really deserve it!). Most of the time we are doing better than we imagine and are in fact making good progress at growing up and improving into our best self. This includes doing what we need to do in taking advantage of the power of positive thinking. Probably the only time you should beat yourself up is when you fall asleep at the wheel or forget to return from your break. Onward and upward.

Now try any two of these solutions to positive thinking and double your mind pleasure. Try them all and show others your enjoyment radiance. And if you have the time and generosity, tell them how you did it. Merry Christmas.

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William Cottringer, Ph.D. is President of Puget Sound Security in Bellevue, WA., along with being a Sport Psychologist, Business Success Coach, Photographer and Writer. He is author of several business and self-development books, including, You Can Have Your Cheese & Eat It Too (Executive Excellence), The Bow-Wow Secrets (Wisdom Tree), and Do What Matters Most and “P” Point Management (Atlantic Book Publishers). This article is an excerpt from an upcoming book Reality Repair Rx. Bill can be reached for comments or questions at (425) 454-5011 or bcottringer@pssp.net