Change your Life by Changing Your Thoughts

10 Tips to Brighten Your Life: Tip 2 - Change Your Life by Changing Your Thoughts
by Lindsay Kenny, EFT Master
www.LKcoaching.com

Find the rest of this series at www.Powerof10s.com

Note: This article presumes you have a working knowledge of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) If you do not, please visit the 'Free Stuff' page at http://www.LKcoaching.com for a tapping chart, instructions on tapping and to establish a foundation for this remarkable self-help tool

Thoughts are arguably among the most powerful tools we possess to affect change in our lives.

Many books have been written on the power of our thoughts, and how profoundly they affect us. I wrote a couple of paragraphs about this in one of my recent newsletters, and I want to expand on it now. My purpose in this short article, however, is not to convince you of the power of your thoughts, but rather to teach you a simple way to change them. There are many books, essays, articles and quotes on the power of thought and the benefit of changing them. One of my favorites is the book “The Secret”. I also love the documentary style movie of the same name, and highly recommend the book, written after the movie. There you can read the quotes and tips over and over.

The classic book, “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen, 1902, based on a Bible verse, is full of great ideas and quotes about the power of thought. I’ve summarized some of his choice quotes below. (Please forgive the politically incorrect gender references. This was written before the power and importance of women was truly recognized. Just change them to suit yourself.
)
• Men do not attract what they want, but what they are.
• A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.
• Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment, of these, if you but remain true to them your world will at last be built.
• The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and also that which it fears.
• Every action and feeling is preceded by a thought.
• Right thinking begins with the words we say to ourselves.
• As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts can make himself strong by exercising himself in right thinking.

Once you understand the power of your thoughts, then changing them is simple and easy. However, most people allow negative thoughts to sabotage their lives and poison their relationships….especially the one with themselves. If you wonder whether your thoughts are predominantly negative or positive, you have to only look at your emotions and your reality. They are a reflection of your thoughts, not vice versa. If you’re feeling lousy, chances are you’re thinking lousy thoughts. If you keep having crummy things happening to you, it’s likely that your thoughts are crummy. Look at your own life for a reality check.

Here’s the good news. It’s not your fault…kind of. We don’t deliberately choose negative thoughts. They just pop into our heads, and most of the time pop right back out. We have somewhere between 40,000 to 60,000 thoughts a day! Most are random, some are positive, but too many are negative. The bad news is the negative ones can easily become habitual, then fester. They make us worry more, or get angrier or become more impatient or fearful. Left unchecked, those thoughts become limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs in turn start reflecting in our reality, since what we predominately think about is what we attract… good or bad.

While we can’t always choose our thoughts, we can control
negative ones by changing them immediately
That’s the good news. You’re trainable. If you’re willing to do just a little work, mind work and easy work, then you can change your thoughts, change your mind and change your life. Here’s a simple way to stop negative thoughts before they become limiting beliefs.

First, write down 10 or more negative thoughts you commonly have, such as;
1. I can’t do this
2. I never have enough time
3. I’ll probably screw it up
4. This is going to be so hard
5. I can’t get going on this
6. I never have enough money
7. I’ll never get this done
8. I can’t forgive her
9. I’m an ugly cow
10. What a loser
11. I’ll never let go of this…
12. I probably won’t get invited anyway
13. I can’t afford that
14. I won’t get that promotion anyway
15. They just don’t like me
16. What’s wrong with me?
17. This probably won’t work

Note: If you’re not a list maker, or just can’t think of any negative thoughts until you get them, then perform this exercise as the negative thoughts arise. You just need to be hyper-vigilant about noticing what your thoughts are.

Second; Tap on these negative thoughts like this –
On the KC point – “Even though I often have these negative thoughts…and others I can’t even remember, I’m proud of myself for changing them to positive ones.” Do this three times. Then on the tapping points do simple reminders such as;
EB- My negative thoughts
SE- This negative thinking
UE- Often expecting the worst
UN- Thinking something’s wrong with me
CH- This negative chatter
CB- Unintentional negative thoughts
UA- Intentional ones
LP- Habitual negative thinking
TH- Enough already

Do another round saying things like; I want to change these thoughts, I want to think positively, I want to expect the best, I deserve the best, I want to let go of this negative chatter, etc.

Then do another sequence of two rounds or more, venting your thoughts and telling yourself you that want to eliminate negative thinking. Choose to forgive yourself for the thoughts. It’s a bit like reprogramming your subconscious (the source of negative thinking.) You’re kind of “Changing Your Mind”. Get it?

Next -Make a list of 20 possible counter-thoughts such as;
1) I allow myself to do this
2) I have more than enough time
3) I allow myself to do this right the first time
4) I choose to make it easy
5) I choose to make it easy to get started
6) I have more than enough money
7) I have more than enough time to do this
8) I choose to forgive her
9) I’m a beautiful person inside and out
10) I deserve prosperity
11) I allow myself to release this anger
12) I choose to find something else interesting to do
13) I can afford that, but choose to save my money
14) I’m the best person for that job and allow them to see it
15) People who matter like me. I choose to be oblivious of the rest
16) I have only positive thoughts about myself and others
17) I allow this to work

If you have negative chatter on the positive thoughts, stop and tap them away;
“Even though I don’t believe this will work, I allow it to work.” (see the second step.)

Then for awhile be super conscious of your thoughts. Every time you have a negative one, simply counter it with a positive thought. If you’re not sure what positive thought to use, just make it the opposite of the negative one. For instance, change “I’ll never get this done” to “I allow myself to finish easily.” Change “I never have enough time” to “I choose to have more than enough time.” Change “I can’t stand her” to “I love and accept the good things about her.” (Ok, you might need to do some tapping on that one. But do it.)

If you don’t think this process will work; Change Your Mind and Think again.
Choose to make it fun and easy.
One last thought. “As a Man Thinketh” opens with this still-timely poem:
Mind is the Master-power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills: —
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass.
This book is now part of the public domain. Find references on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_a_Man_Thinketh

Good luck and good tapping,
Lindsay Kenny
www.ProEFT.com