How life reflects our thoughts By Donna Davis

What Was I Thinking?!

How life reflects our thoughts

By Donna Davis

There's a country song called "What Was I Thinking?" It's a cute story about a young man who takes a beautiful girl out for a date. Normal, right? Except for the fact that the girl's father is a bit crazy. And despite the father's gun-toting demeanor, the boy decides to take the girl out again. And so the question "What was I thinking?"

Probably at some point in our lives, most of us have done something and later asked "What was I thinking!?" But have you ever thought about this on a much broader scale? Do you realize how powerful your thoughts are and the effect they have on your life?

What does your life look like right now? Do you have a fulfilling, nurturing relationship? Can and do you talk to your kids? Do you like where you live? Do you have a job or business that is rewarding and fun? Would you like to make any changes?

So "what are you thinking?" Do you believe that you can create the life you dream of? If your answer is yes, then you probably are already using the steps we'll discuss here. If you said maybe or no, then keep reading.

Thoughts are powerful. If you repeat something enough times, you start to believe it. And when you believe something, you start creating that in your life. If you find you're not making the progress you want in your life, start here.

Step 1: Become aware of your thoughts. If you are new to this process, then at the end of the day, take five minutes and reflect on how you felt. Did you feel peaceful or frazzled and stressed? Were your thoughts about how everything is falling perfectly into place, or how you'll never get everything done? Do you ever say things like "Oh, we can't afford that," "I'm always tired," "I'd love to start my own business, but I could never do that" or "My kids are always in trouble"? Start becoming aware of what you say and what you think, and then notice how often those thoughts occur. As you become more familiar with this process, then become aware of your thoughts more often during the day.

Step 2: Observe your life. Are you happy? Are you working in a job or business that you love? Do you have great relationships that nurture you? Most of us have areas in our life that we want to improve upon. But first think about the accomplishments you've made in your life and take a few moments to really be proud of what you did. You did that!! It might have been difficult, but you did it! Congratulations. Take a few moments to imagine a celebration in your honor. No matter how big or how small, your accomplishment matters. Celebrate yourself! Now, consider the dreams that you haven't achieved or that you've even given up on. Many times our thoughts kill our dreams. So flip a switch and take those wonderful feelings of accomplishment and KNOW that you can achieve other things in your life as well, even if your dream seems far away.

Step 3: Stop the negative thoughts. Once you start to be aware of the negative thoughts that pop up during the day, the next step is to stop them. When I was aware of less than positive thoughts creeping in, I would say "STOP" to myself (sometimes silently and sometimes out loud). I would picture a huge Stop sign coming right in front of my face. Others have worn a rubber band on their wrist and when those thoughts start chattering away in the brain, they simply pop the rubber band.

Step 4: Immediate say something positive to yourself. Once you have found some trick or method to stop the negative thoughts, then immediately say something positive. For example, if the thought of "I'll never be able to afford a vacation" appears, say "Money is flowing to me right now" or "I am prosperous in all ways." Write down your positive phrase and post it everywhere to reinforce the positive.

Step 5: Repeat positive phrases several times a day. In addition to stopping the negative thoughts, you want to start reprogramming your brain with positive, good thoughts. So write down your positive thoughts and carry them with you. Repeat them several times a day to yourself. What I personally have found is that I don't start with something I feel is too far out of my reach. I did not start by saying "I am a millionaire" because my brain immediately said "Yeah, right!" But I started reprogramming in small ways.

When I was younger, my father (who's now 90) said that $25,000 a year was a great income and people should be happy with that. (And when my father was young, that was a great income.)

I'm sure you can guess what happened in my career. For years, I could not earn over $25,000 a year. I wasn't happy with that income. I felt worth more. Can you relate to that? Are you receiving what you're worth - in your career and relationships?

I started reading books like "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. I read many other books on thinking prosperously, and I learned that what my life looks like on the outside is a direct reflection of what I'm thinking on the inside.

About 15 years ago when I was being interviewed for a job I really wanted, I started repeating "I am offered $32,500 as my starting salary." (The salary for the position was $30,000.) This was a stretch for me considering my previous programming. The hiring process took several months so I had a lot of time to keep repeating my desired salary. Upon hire, I was offered $32,500. I stayed with that company for almost 5 years and more than doubled that starting salary.

Step 6: Congratulate and celebrate your successes. As you begin making changes, acknowledge yourself. And as you start to achieve your dreams, celebrate! Reinforce the feelings you have after your accomplishments - big and small.

If you become aware of your thoughts, you can change them. Even if you say one less negative statement a day, you're making progress. And when you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, your life starts moving in a more positive direction. If you journal, write down where you are in this process today and then check back in a month and then in three months and see the progress you've made.

You can create the life of your dreams. It starts with baby steps. You deserve the best. So now."What Are You Thinking?" Be excited about achieving your dreams.