I know not everyone thinks like I do, but I have always had this tendency to play the "What If" game. Some of you may be familiar with it. When I was in school, it went like this:
(on the first day of school) "What if I can't find all my classes? I could be lost and late for class."
"What if I don't make any friends?"
"What if I can't pass this test?"
"What if I miss the bus?"
I'd like to think that maybe some of this sort of thinking was just to keep me prepared and aware of my surroundings. Unfortunately, it also carried a huge negative overtone. In some cases, I was setting myself up for failure, and in others, the things I worried about never happened. How I would love to have all that time back that I spent worrying for nothing!
Stop Negative Self Talk And Thinking
The thing about negative self talk is that it's a hard thing to get out of. My mind runs a hundred percent most of the time. Even when I'm sitting quietly, I'm usually thinking about three or four things at the same time. So, turning the talk off was impossible.
Turn Negative Into Positive
What I DID do, however, was to turn that negative into a positive. It takes a little time and you're going to have to want to change your thought patterns. You're going to want to be a more positive person. As long as you want to do it, you can, but you still have to act on that want instead of just thinking about it.
Ready? Here we go:
When you wake up in the morning, you might find some of those negative thoughts streaming into your head already. Try to turn them around into something positive. For example:
- What if I can't find all my classes? Oh, that's alright. There will be plenty of people available to help me find my way. In fact, I might even make some new friends just by asking for directions!"
- What if I can't pass this test? Well, I studied as best I could and I paid attention in class. I believe that I did everything I could do, and now I get to prove it! Doing my best is the most important thing to me, anyway."
Learn To Love And Appreciate Something You Do Not
I am by no means a morning person. Or, at least I wasn't for the first 30 years of my life! Slowly I began to find things to be appreciative about the morning. I feel like I get more things accomplished during the day. I feel more energetic usually. I now really enjoy drinking hot tea in the morning. I get to enjoy the breakfast menu at Burger King. (Hey, whatever floats your boat, right?)
Once I began to find a few things, then my appreciation for even more things came about. Now when I wake up, I often think, "Oh wow I'm up this early? I wonder what I'll get into today! I wonder what I'll get to scratch off my to-do list!" and I'm excited about the possibilities.
How To Stay Motivated Over Time
This process of turning negative thoughts into positive thoughts to where it became the norm for me, took me about two years. I didn't expect to just suddenly start thinking positive and have my life changed overnight. A tool that kept me motivated was Max Laing's Allowing Success. Allowing Success is loaded with positive affirmations and motivating music; definitely not a snoozer meant to tire you out. Play it while you're working, as you drive, or during one of your daily activities. You'll feel pumped and motivated and ready to take on any challenge! I listened to it daily and continue to listen to it as a base source of motivation.
You might find that you get it going for about two weeks and then fall back into your old habits. This is okay! It's your determination to get back into the new way of thinking (which you will soon think of as your ONLY way of thinking) as long as you remain committed and continue to work towards your new goals.
Additional Notes by Author:
Janet Ballweber is an entrepreneur who believes that sharing knowledge for free is a great idea. The ever-growing CyberSeams.com is a testament to this where you can learn to sew, knit, craft, and obtain patterns - completely free of charge. Check out her latest developments at CyberSeams.
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