What You Think About Expands

You already are what you’re thinking.  And you are expanding and using powerful thought every day you live. This is why recognizing then changing thought patterns (habits) is based on changing the powerful thought behind the habit.  Don’t believe it?  Let’s talk about how powerful our thoughts are.  Have you ever been safely tucked into your own little bed at night and suddenly noticed the closet door is cracked-  in the closet you see ominous darkness-  even a shadow or two…and perhaps something else…what is that “thing” lurking in the closet, silently staring out at you, waiting for you to fall asleep so it can slink toward you?!…your heart starts to beat, you pull up the covers to shield yourself from heaven knows what; your breath is quick and shallow-  you reach for the light and snap it on.  Your very thoughts created enough fright to raise your heartbeat, quicken your breathing and suck you into believing something was going to GET YOU!  And it was all about nothing- pure fiction of the mind.  Now that’s power!  Or how about this- you text someone who is traveling, they don’t answer right away.  That’s all right- you don’t want them texting and driving.  But time goes by; they don’t return the text.  You start thinking, they should’ve made a fuel stop by now…time goes on and still no text.  Your mind starts to race- worry sets in.  Soon you’ve decided they’ve had car trouble.  Time passes and you just know they’ve been in an accident.  As you fret and pace more and more terrible thoughts creep into your mind.  The thoughts keep expanding until suddenly you’re planning a funeral!  And boy, are you angry when they call later to apologize and tell you their phone died.  Yup, we’ve all been victims of our own powerful thinking.

These two examples may have you laughing and nodding your head in agreement- yes, you’ve experienced thoughts like these.  Well, know that you have powerful thoughts deeply ingrained in your very being that keep you holding tight to habits, too.  You’ll need to become acutely aware of your thinking so you can slam the door shut on negative thoughts and take a complete paradigm shift toward freeing yourself from your undesirable powerful self-talk (habits).  Here’s a great starting point:  Take a day or two to notice two things:  the negative talk that comes out of the mouths of people around you, and your own negative self-talk.

Look at some of the negative self-talk (thoughts) I’ve heard from people recently-  just my luck…argh, it’s Monday!...I’m too old…it’s too hard…this is who I am…you can’t teach an old dog new tricks…I’ve never been any good at that…why me?!  Fascinating, isn’t it?  Take a listen for yourself. It’s actually almost amusing.

Now, how about your own self-talk (thoughts)?  Since I’m specifically blogging about gaining optimum health, let me highlight the negatives we obese people have used to help us fail at weight loss in the past.  I hate dieting…I can’t wait until this diet is over…I can ONLY eat 1000 calories a day…I can’t have anything I want to eat!...this is so hard!...this exercise DVD is too hard…I look stupid working out…I’ll never be able to do this…this is going so slow…why me…I ate more than my planned calorie intake-  I’m such a loser…so-and-so looks so much better than me…I am deprived…I’ve gotta get some willpower…this is NO FUN!  Any of these sound familiar?  Dig, dig, dig that brain trench habit. You know what-  all of these things become truth because your thinking makes it so. 

May I suggest you become excited about your health and wellness plan- and love it!  Change your negative thoughts to positive thoughts. Frame your very thinking to entrench positive grooves in your brain.  Let’s use me as an example:  I’m excited about gaining optimum health (notice I don’t use the word diet; to me, it has a negative connotation.  This isn’t about “losing” weight it’s about “gaining” health).  I decided in advance to eat foods I love (every time I eat I get to say, “Yum, yum this is great!”).  I planned ahead of time to choose exercise routines that excite me (when I exercise I get to say, “Yeah baby, this kicks butt!  I’m getting strong!”).  When I legitimately want a treat I savor each little bite and really indulge in the delectable goodness of the morsel (again with the “yum, yum” stuff).  As you see, I framed everything in positive self-talk because I love what I’m doing and am excited for my success.  I created it to be this way- and so it is.  Dig, dig, dig that positively wonderful brain trench habit!

I’m excited to share self-talk scripting with you in a future blog.  Now create a great day for yourself-  and dig!