Drop these Thoughts + Live a BETTER LIFE

WHAT IS TOXIC THINKING?

Toxic thinking is a pattern of thoughts that is destructive. They begin small and perhaps we may even feel they’re justified, but they are nothing more than poison for us physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN OUR BRAINS?

In our brain we have 200 billion neurons. There are trillions of connections—more connections in our brains than stars in the Milky Way. Toxic thinking begins with one negative thought. This creates a connection in our brains. When we allow one negative thought to lead to another, they impact every cell in our bodies. Also, the more we focus on negative thoughts, the more we create strong connections in our brains for negative thoughts. These connections impact our ability to see opportunities and can even make us physically ill.

WHY DO WE THINK NEGATIVE THOUGHTS?

We may have learned to think negatively from people who truly meant well in our lives, like our parents and family, our teachers, coaches, rabbis or pastors. These people are early influencers in our lives, and we have been conditioned to listen to everything they have to say about us. We blindly adopt their opinions about us, good or bad, and can end up carrying their baggage for a lifetime. While they may have been trying to innocently help us avoid being hurt when things don’t work out or simply have not known better themselves, these early influencers can sometimes leave long-lasting insecurities and fears in their wake. People around us modeled the pattern and naively we followed it.

FIVE VITAL STEPS TO ELIMINATE TOXIC THINKING

Here are five proactive steps to releasing yourself from toxic thinking:

1. Recognize the power of your thoughts. Controlling them does matter.
2. Accept that you can’t change the way others think. The only thing you can change is your thinking.
3. Ask yourself if this negative thought in your head is even true. Just because a negative thought enters your head, it does not mean that it is the truth, so take a moment of conscious reflection where you consider whether it is actually true.
4. Talk back and fight back. Our brain and thought life is a battleground. When a negative thought enters your head, write it down and then write something positive. If you’re not in a position to write it down, mentally do the exercise and then tell the thought that it is being deleted.
5. Be persistent. Remember that neurons form strong connections when the thought or action is constantly repeated. Negative thoughts can form very strong connections, so it will take time. Simply replace bad thoughts with good thoughts; repetition of the good thoughts will re-enforce the neuron connections and bring about positive thoughts. For example: If every time you look in the mirror you say to yourself, “I am fat and ugly,” replace that thought by saying, “I am beautifully and wonderfully made! I am the apple of God’s eye. There is not another like me.”

Follow these guidelines and before you know it, negative thoughts will vanish and positive thoughts will flourish! These positive mantras and affirmations will now be your inner guiding light!