THINK YOURSELF HAPPY
It’s all very well to say think positive, but isn’t this easier said than done? Here’s the good news – retraining your mind so that it works with you instead of against you is simpler than you would ever imagine.
Most people believe that the workings of the mind are complex and complicated. Would it surprise you to learn that you only need to know three things about the way your mind works to have it fully cooperate with you in achieving what you want out of life?
- Your mind does what it thinks you want it to do and is wired to move you towards pleasure and away from pain.
- The way you feel about any situation is linked to only two things: the pictures you make in your mind and the words you say to yourself.
- Your mind loves and wants to return to what is familiar. To achieve success you must work at making the familiar unfamiliar and the unfamiliar familiar.
Here’s how you can make your mind work for you…
MIND, ARE YOU LISTENING?
Your mind’s job is not to make you happy. It is to make sure you survive on the planet against all odds. It does this by remembering anything that hurt you so you can avoid it in the future. If you eat something that makes you ill, you may find you can’t eat it again. This is a survival instinct that’s wired into human beings. Therefore, your mind hears and believes your words and responds by making you more resistant to doing these things. The language you use affects your mind and how you perceive life situations.
BE SPECIFIC
Collaborate with your mind by telling it exactly what you want using precise, specific, descriptive language and you are more likely to achieve success. When you are specific and use detailed words that give your mind the right message, mistakes are avoided. Adding the words “I have chosen to” into your dialogue takes you to what you want.
For example, if you want to be fit and healthy you must state “I have chosen to eat fruit instead of dessert and have chosen to feel great about that because I have chosen to drop down a size.” This clearly instructs your mind, whereas saying “I want cake but I can’t have it because I am on a diet” actually increases the desire for cake.
Remind yourself that your problem is someone else’s dream come true. They would love to have a job, or a boss that was demanding, or a baby that kept them up at night. Embrace your situation and you’ll feel much better about it.
“Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior ” – Mahatma Gandhi
THE WAY I SEE IT
Each person’s feelings about any situation are because of the words and images they are making in their heads. You can change the words and images at any time.
If you have a deadline to meet, a speech to write, or a difficult client to deal with, remember, the way you are feeling about that event is because of the words and images you are putting into your mind. So change them: make them less negative and your feelings will change. Your mind responds to words that are descriptive, so instead of saying “This client is hell!” say “This client is a challenge.” Using words that are less intense will make you feelings less intense.
SHOCK YOUR MIND WITH NEWNESS
If you want to succeed you must embrace the unfamiliar. This is especially true of people who have grown up in families where it was rare to be praised. For them praise is so unfamiliar that they are uncomfortable with it. When they get praise they reject it. So if you say “You made a great sale” they will shrug it off and might respond with “I was better last time.” You have to learn how to make praise and self-praise familiar, as it dramatically boosts your self-esteem. Tell yourself how good you are.
