PRACTICE POSITIVE SELF-TALK

     Choice #5- Change your thought patterns - We can control our thoughts, and our feelings come from our thoughts. We can control our feelings by learning to change one thing: The way we think.

     *Practice positive self-talk. The biggest change I made within myself – before I could say, “I have a great positive attitude,” is self-talk.  Self-talk is the conversation you have with yourself. Your mind is powerful, especially the subconscious mind. It doesn't know the difference between what is real and what is imagined. So, tell it, "I am intelligent, confident and strong." The subconscious mind will always agree with you. Once your mind agrees, then it begins encouraging you down a path that leads only to success.

     Did you know that you can increase your chances of success by consciously choosing the right words? It's true! Let's say you're motivated, excited even, to create change in your life. You've even gone so far as to put your well-formed goals down in writing. From there, you've determined your first steps to begin the process of writing your first novel. You've got enormous enthusiasm and know exactly what it is you' re going to do. You choose your goal tomorrow, and then inadvertently cripple your success before you even start. You say, "I'll try."

     What does "I'll try" mean? It means you've given yourself an out. Should some obstacle surface, you now have a built-in escape route that gets you off the hook. The word presupposes failure. It lacks intention and confidence. You are sowing doubt in your own mind. It says, "Alright, I'll give it a go, but I can't really see it working out."

     Now observe what it feels like to say "I am". For example, "I am now committed to feeling good by honoring my decision to write 20 minutes today." If it doesn't feel right, then you've selected a goal that is something other than your natural first step. Back up and find the action step you are ready to undertake. It doesn't matter how small and insignificant it may seem at the time. You' re better off starting with something teeny- tiny and achieving success, than starting with something you already know you're not ready for. The wise Lao-Tzu once stated, "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." Make sure you are able to complete your first step.

     Once you find a plan of action that is doable, forget trying to do it. To try to do something is to not do it. Instead, declare whole-heartedly, "I am now achieving this!"

     Make your success inevitable. Of course, you need to be aware that the alternative is also true. If you tell your mind that you are dumb, careless, and insecure, your mind with encourage you with these thoughts.

     Choice #6- Say daily affirmations. Repeat to yourself constantly: “I have the ability to accomplish all my goals.”  Repeat again and again. Don't stop. Before long you will believe it. Once something is recorded in the subconscious, it stays there.

     Claude Bristol, author of The Magic of Believing, says, "Repeated suggestion acts directly on our emotions and our feelings. It's the repeated suggestion that makes you believe."

     How often should you say your affirmations? I recommend saying them: * At the beginning of each day -- before you get out of bed * At the end of every day, before going to sleep and when you hear a negative comment from yourself or others * Any time you have doubts about your abilities- repeat your affirmations.

     Choice #7- Continually choose to have a right attitude - The hardest thing about milking cows is, ‘they never stay milked’ observed a farmer. Similarly, attitudes often don’t stay changed. The initial stages are often the most difficult. Old habits die hard. You have to guard yourself mentally. Once new habits begin to take root, new challenges spring up. They have to be associated with the right choices. Finally, in the last stages, complacency can become the enemy.

     Just like writing on schedule, and then falling back into old habits and getting too busy to write.

     No one but you can determine what you will think, your growth and how you will act. Now take control and begin the exciting journey of attitude improvement.

     When a person is in a depressed mood, everything can seem depressing. So shake them off those feelings and replace them with good thoughts.

     Choice #8- Create a circle of positive people and motivators. Negativity is a virus. It penetrates healthy thoughts and feelings. Shut your mind to people's negativity. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can say anything to hurt me, unless I allow them to.”   Don’t let someone or something affect your attitude toward yourself or your situation.

     Yes, old feelings from the past can be triggered by others around you, but it is your decision or choice as to how you will let it affect you. To help you in this stage, know your hot buttons, examine why they affect you, change your thinking about these buttons and take charge of your present and your future.

     Gather Your Personal Motivators ~ What books motivate you? What movies inspire you? What people, places, or things make you want to do the things you say you want to do?

     We all have them, though few people take the time to identify in particular what they are. 

     I want you to go a step further. I don't want you to merely name the things that motivate you--I want you to gather them into one place and create a motivation station of sorts.

     When you find something that excites or inspires you, you've found gold. You can't let that slip to the side. You need to capture it so you can return to it whenever you need hope, encouragement, or confidence.

     Having a positive attitude is a choice. Plain and simple.  It starts with changing your life. That might appear to be a heavy task that takes months or even years.  But, in truth, it all starts with a small step in the right direction.

     We are confronted daily with situations, words, outcomes that force us to choose a response. That response is based decidedly on your attitude. Attitude is the difference between winning the battles, but losing the war.

     How many times have you realized that your attitude saved a business deal, a relationship, or your life?

     Your attitude whether positive or negative is one of the few things in this world that we have total control over. We have the power to open or close our minds to failures, pessimistic people, and past conditions.