by Linda-Ann Stewart
Your mind was programmed in the past without your knowledge. If you have negative programming, it was generally in response to fear, anger or safety concerns. Also, you uncritically accepted ideas from your parents, because you were too young to know any better. At that time, you simply didn’t have the experience to reject their ideas. And then you repeated those concepts until their belief became your beliefs.
As you grew up, you acted on those ideas automatically. By not assessing them to see if you wanted to believe that way, you were simply swept along by your thoughts. Because you haven’t challenged them, your subconscious acts on those dominant ideas and thinks they’re what you want. But you have a choice of what to think and believe. You can take control of your life. It all depends on where you put your attention.
What You Focus on Changes Your Brain
What you focus on grows more brain cells in that area of your brain. When you pay attention to the positive and possibilities, your brain grows more cells that support empowerment and action. You literally rewire your brain, which makes it easier to be positive. It’s a cycle that benefits your moods and mindset, and your thoughts inspire your actions.
So how do you choose your thoughts and program your mind? It’s as simple as it sounds, but not necessarily easy.
1. Become aware of what you’re thinking. You have hundreds of thoughts running through your head just below your conscious awareness. The point is to begin noticing what they are. Observe your mood, or if you’re avoiding something or taking some action that isn’t beneficial. Then listen to what you’re telling yourself. Because your self-talk, which are your habitual thoughts, will be underneath your attitude or actions.
2. Break those automatic habitual thoughts. Now that you’ve become aware of what you’re thinking, challenge those thoughts. Determine if they’re helpful or not. Just because they’ve been correct in the past, don’t be deceived. Past experience doesn’t make them true. It may be that they were a self-fulfilling prophecy or that you only filtered information that made them appear to be true. Ask, “In what ways could they be false?”
3. Choose what you’d rather believe. You have the power to change your thinking and your focus. Decide what you want to believe. Some people shift from expecting the worst to expecting the best. What would you choose to think? What idea would better support you and your endeavors? What would be the best outcome that you can imagine? When you consider these questions, you set your subconscious to seek beneficial answers and to find opportunities to make them true.
4. Focus on your new belief. Create a positive statement, mantra, affirmation, image or visualization that fortifies your new belief. At the beginning, you’ll have to use it frequently, because the old ideas will surface to test you. When they do, don’t fight them. They’re not “bad.” They are just from an earlier time and want to make sure it’s safe to make the change. Simply substitute your new ideas for the old ones. Repeat your new belief a thousand times a day if needed.
Keep bringing your thoughts back to the positive. The more you do this, the more brain cells you’ll grow that reflect positivity. This will make it easier and easier to find and focus on the positive. It’ll become a habit for you. When you take charge and master your mind, you condition it to be more positive and improve your outcomes.
Affirmation:
The Universe completely supports my decisions and endeavors. It wants for me what I want for myself. It’s safe for me to make the mental and emotional changes that are necessary for me to experience my desire, goal and vision. The old ideas once served a purpose, but they are now outdated. I now choose and focus on ideas and beliefs that are in line with what I truly want.
Watch the accompanying video, Meditation to Train Yourself to Be Positive.
