You CAN Do It!

Does anyone feel they need a boost today? Like a shot of espresso or maybe something stronger? These are challenging times we are in right now so, in an effort to help shift our thoughts in a more positive direction, I thought I would share a couple of tips which have really helped me.

Watch Your Thoughts

As I mentioned in my January Go Magazine article, we need to pay attention to what we’re saying to ourselves. Science shows us that every thought affects every cell of our body. What we think changes the structure of our brains and our bodies. Communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist, Dr Caroline Leaf, says that we are our own neurosurgeons and that our brains and bodies are designed to live in love not fear.

As we focus now more than ever on staying healthy, we need to realize it’s not just about eating right, exercising, washing our hands and socially distancing. Those things are important, but so too are our thoughts. Our thoughts powerfully create the health of our bodies. Not only that, quantum physics shows us how our thoughts affect our future.

Research shows that most of our thoughts are in fact negative. To be honest with you, when I first become conscious in the morning, my thoughts shift immediately to the negative. I would love to tell you I’m one of those people who just wakes up excited for life and full of gratitude but I’m not. I have learned I need to get a little gangster with my anxious, negative thoughts that try to terrorize my spirit.

In fact, I find it absolutely necessary for me to take the first 30-45 minutes of my day before I talk to anyone to fill my mind with positive thoughts of hope. I call it my “spiritual work.” If I don’t intentionally fill my mind with uplifting thoughts at the very start of the day, I am easily agitated, worried, feeling hopeless, and I think a lot of unkind things about myself and others. I need to do this because I know what months of unending depression, anxiety and hopelessness feels like. I know how low I can get, and I much prefer to go through the day feeling hopeful, inspired, good about myself and loving towards others. It makes me a better friend, co-worker and employee.

So, may I gently recommend that you invest at least 10-15 minutes at the beginning of the day in your emotional and mental well being even if it means getting up earlier before anyone in your house. Some of the most successful people in the world do this because they realize how important it is to their success. Billionaire Warren Buffet, one of the wealthiest men in the world who is known for knowing what stocks to invest in says “By far the best investment you can make is in yourself.”

Read something that uplifts you, journal, pray, meditate, listen to an inspirational song or speaker. Give some undivided attention to inspiring yourself. Now more than ever, you need to be your own motivational coach. Think thoughts of gratitude for what you do have, what you have been through, and the way you want to live that day. It’s all about intentionally feeding your spirit with hope.

Then throughout the day, pay attention to what you’re thinking and how you’re feeling. If you find you’re feeling anxious and stressed, stop and ask yourself what is scaring you. What thought lead to that feeling? Just because its a thought, doesn’t mean its true. I like what Louise Hay says, “It’s only a thought and a thought can be changed.”

Watch Your Words

Another small thing you can do, is to speak more positively about yourself and your life. I’ve noticed it is very common and culturally acceptable to speak negatively about our bodies, our mistakes, our present and our futures. Our words carry power and become self-fulfilling prophecies. This is where positive affirmations can be a great tool especially when done looking into the mirror.

An affirmation is anything we think or say. Much of what we think or say to ourselves and about ourselves is negative. Our minds are like computers that have been infected with a dreaded virus. On a regular basis we need to delete some of the negative files that are harsh and talk us out of our potential.

Here is just a sampling of new thoughts that we can dwell on and speak out throughout the day to reprogram our thinking:

·I CAN do it! I’ll take it one moment at a time. This is only temporary.

·I am totally adequate for all situations.

· Today, no person, place or thing can irritate or annoy me. I choose to be at peace.

·I have everything I need to create my own opportunities. Opportunities are everywhere.

·I accept responsibility for my own happiness.

·I accept me as I am and release the need for approval.

·I bring something unique to the table by simply being me.

·Something good is going to happen to me today!

·The past is over and done and has no power over me. I am free in this moment. I am in charge and no person, place or thing has any power over me.

·I am safe, it’s only change. My life gets better all the time.

·I release the need to blame anyone including myself. We are all doing the very best we can.

·I turn every experience into an opportunity.

·Out of this situation only good will come.

·What happens to others does not dictate and determine what happens to me.

·Things are always working out for me.

·My life gets better every day.

You need to not only say the words frequently but embrace the concepts. The power comes in believing them and to believe them you may need to do some work. Even professional and Olympic athletes hire self-talk coaches to help them stay positive and overcome their negative thoughts. Your life is worth just as much as theirs is. You have just as much potential to reach your dreams as they do

I know the news may tell us to fear our future and that the odds are against us but this is where you need to turn off the news at a certain point and invest time into thinking and speaking positively about yourself and about your future. Your life is not determined by the COVID-19, the state of the economy, your race, your social status, your appearance or how many "likes" you have on social media. Your life is not determined by your manager or by the CEO of your company. YOU are the CEO of your life.

So, feed your mind and spirit with thoughts of hope for a better future, thoughts of kindness towards yourself, and others. Speak words of encouragement over yourself and expectation for good over your life. And finally, remember, if you are breathing, your life has purpose and there is an amazing destiny in front of you which you CAN possess even if right now it seems impossible.

If we understood the power of our thoughts, we would guard them more closely. If we understood the awesome power of our words, we would prefer silence to almost anything negative. In our thoughts and words, we create our own weaknesses and our own strengths. Our limitations and joys begin in our hearts. We can always replace negative with positive. - Betty Eadi