Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions. - Einstein

This is one of my favorite quotes because it's so true.

We all have active imaginations, and we are all thinking a million thoughts each day - many of which we aren't even aware of. Have you ever had someone ask you what you were thinking and realized that it was hard to put it into words because either 1.) you were thinking many different things at the same time or 2) you are so used to being on auto pilot that you had absolutely no idea.

Regardless of whether you are conscious of your thoughts or not, you are creating your present life with them.

And this can either be a very positive thing or it can be a not-so-good thing. You get to decide.

Think about how you see yourself and what you believe you are worth and how you deserve to live. Think about the messages that you tell yourself when something goes right in your life - are you excited and pat yourself on the back or are you doubtful that you deserve this wonderful thing and keep waiting for it to be taken away. Do you embrace the good or try to sabotage yourself somehow?

Keep in mind that you may have to do a little digging here to find out what your thought patterns are - you have had a lifetime of setting up unconscious habits for how you think about everything. The first step in changing your thoughts is to recognize what they are.

I believe that what we think about today becomes our life tomorrow. If you think that you will never be able to live your dream life, than you won't. If you truly believe that you will be happy and live the life you were meant to live - you will.

It's that simple. (Sort of.)
Once you realize that your thoughts become your reality, you need to make a choice to become more conscious and aware of what you are thinking. That way when a negative thought pattern appears, you can recognize it and change it immediately to a positive thought - which (if done enough) will create a new pattern.

This takes a lot of practice, and I am still getting the hang of it. I am in the awareness stage where I am learning to harness my thoughts and make sure they are the thoughts that I want to be thinking to create the life that I want to live.

If this is a new concept for you, just take some time to sit with it. Maybe for one day, try to be aware of your thoughts. You can even write some of them down. It may be very eye opening to read in black and white what you spend your time focusing on and thinking about. This is the first step.

And the worst thing that can happen by changing any negative thoughts into positive ones is that you will be a much happier person.

And you're definitely worth it!

Author's Bio: 

Jodi Chapman is the author of the inspirational blog, Soul Speak; the upcoming book, Coming Back to Life: How an Unlikely Friend Helped Me Reclaim My True Spirit; and the bestselling Soulful Journals series, co-authored with her amazing husband, Dan Teck. www.jodichapman.com