I understand how it feels to be stuck in a negative thought pattern. I spent a long time speaking negatively to myself, thinking negative thoughts, believing negative beliefs. I’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt…
One thing that I have learned is that what we allow ourselves to think becomes our entire belief system and also our reality.
Let me say that again in case you didn’t catch it.
The thoughts that we allow ourselves to think and focus on become our entire belief system and also our reality.
If you expect negative things you will not only be on the lookout for them but then when something that you perceive as negative happens you will also tell yourself, “I knew that would happen!” and you have completed a self-fulling prophecy. You will then continue in the cycle with each event and thought that you experience.
But if you allow yourself a different set of thoughts you will react differently to the same negative things that happen in life.
Instead of giving into the negativity of it you will be able to say, “This is a challenge to overcome” and you will look for the good in the situation and you will find ways that you can grow and learn from the experience. It will indeed become a positive experience because of the action that you took. When all said and done you will feel on top of the world!
The only difference between those two scenarios are the mindsets. I have seen many instances where two people go through the same difficulty and the negative person digs themselves deeper into a hole whereas the other person comes out a better person. The second person isn’t better than the first, they just chose to handle their thoughts differently and therefore their actions are completely different allowing them a different outcome.
To move from negative to positive thoughts I suggest the following:
- Think of about three to five beliefs that you want to believe but you don’t yet believe.
- Then write those down on note cards and read them at least 5 times a day.
- Go a step further by saying them out loud each day.
You will eventually start to believe them and you will be able to create a new belief system for yourself! You probably don’t even think that it will make a difference (I’ve been there too!) but you will surprise yourself when you start to see changes in the way that you think and look at things.
The thoughts that you think have so much power and they even wire your brain into different patterns. It’s amazing how it works! I recently read a very powerful post on this topic called How Positive Thinking Rewires The Brain. I highly recommend you read it! But before you do please comment and share this post if you found it interesting or helpful!
PS: Be on the lookout for my next post, I have an exciting announcement about my first e-book free for all of my readers! So make sure that you’re subscribed to my blog posts or feed so that you don’t miss it!
Thank you for reading! I'm Stacy, the owner of this blog. You can learn more about me here.
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I’m a real believer in this, Stacy. I will often tell my teens when they are putting themselves down that there is no bad self-talk in this family. What we think and believe is huge! Thanks for articulating it so well. Oh, can’t wait to get your free e-book too. blessings, Amy
Amy Hagerup invites you to read… How to Outsmart Bad Cholesterol
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Girl, I have the matching t-shirt!
I just found you blog today from the blog frog and am so glad I did. You are absolutely right. For me, negative thinking starts to become a habit…. and I am the worst for falling into the ‘comparison trap’…
thanks for this post!
Melanie
Melanie invites you to read… Praising the Lord!
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So very true. Well written.
When I’m in the midst of a negative spiral (yesterday afternoon) my tricks are (1) hard work/work out (2) music (3) movie. Once I’ve jolted myself out of my pity party, I can change my focus to more positive thoughts – like counting my blessings.
I’m a true believer that we attract what we think.
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Stacy…awesome post!
I’m excited about your ebook! I’m sure it’s incredible and I can’t wait to read it.
You are so moving forward and growing in your business and your blog and I’m so honored to be on this journey with you!
Heather
p.s. I left you a reply to your comment on my blog.
Heather C Stephens invites you to read… Is Focusing on Mompreneurs and WAHMs Cutting My Audience In Half
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Hi Stacy,
Beliefs can be your best friend or worst enemy. I love the emphasis on affirmations because you really do need to reaffirm new beliefs daily if you want them to stick. It’s very much like adopting a new habit.
Janette
p.s. Congrats on your new upcoming ebook. When I finished mine it was such an awesome feeling!
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The reason why I think positive nowadays is my reading of books. I have read so many books, books covering all sorts of topics. But after a while I started to realize that there truly is no other way than to be an optimist. It pains me to see that so many people think that life is bad but it’s not. It all depends on your point of view.
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Hi Stacy
I am completely with you on this one, the way we think creates our reality. I suffer from social anxiety and changing my thought patterns is an ongoing battle. These days the main thing I get anxious about is whether people can tell that I am anxious. I haven’t tried affirmations, but I would like to give it a go as I know changing how I think is absolutely key.
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Hi,
Good post! A single negative thought can impact our life, its like a rotten apple which spoils all other apples in the basket. If we can adopt a positive approach in life we can cross almost all hurdles of life more conveniently. Positive thinking is actually an art of living, a strong support of mutual co-existence on this planet.
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Stacy Reply:
September 15th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Great points, Ben! It’s true that negative thoughts can have an equal impact on our lives – but not for the good!
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It’s true: negativity breeds negativity. I really needed to read this today, so thank you Stacy, I’m generally a really upbeat person, always seeing that the glass is half full as opposed to half empty…but even though I’m positive and hardly ever negative, I still get those niggly doubts of negativity creeping in, so it was great to read this. I’m definitely going to give those 3 steps that you suggest a go. Thanks for this!
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Stacy Reply:
January 6th, 2011 at 5:08 pm
Sabi, thanks for visiting and I hope the 3 steps helped! I’d love to hear about it!
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really agreed with what they were saying and thought I would share it with you all…
was surprised by this so thought I would share it with my readers…
[...] Moving From Negative to Positive Thought Patterns [...]
[...] Moving From Negative to Positive Thought Patterns [...]
Yes, go a step further and say them out loud. There is so much power in the spoken word that we do not realize. An idea can really come to life once it leaves your head… actually that is the only way that it can come alive.
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