WHATCHA THINKING? (CAUSE IT MATTERS)

Do you have any habits that get in the way of growing your business? Do you find yourself struggling with self-sabotaging thoughts running like a continuous loop tape through your head? The tape may be so automatic that you aren’t even aware its there in the background planting these ugly seeds. You may even have a personal ‘favorite’ that kick in automatically without any effort at all. Or perhaps you have some seasonal challenges, and now that a new year has begun, you’ve kicked into your January/February ‘self destruct’ tape.

If so, you’re not alone. Statistics show that over 97% of our self-talk is repetitive. Old messages that we feed ourselves day after day after day. So what is it that we’re thinking about? What is it that we’ve become conditioned to thinking, perhaps even more regularly than we think about what’s for dinner?

The most common theme I hear about is the habit of focusing on what isn’t working. It’s the number one favorite. Some get so stuck in this destructive behavior, its become a natural part of their thought process, that goes virtually unnoticed…that is until someone outside of them begins to see the trend, calls attention to it, questions the awareness. Then we have the opportunity to create an intention to do the exact opposite. That is to ONLY focus on what’s working. Put signs around your house and on your desktop to remind you. Right now, close your eyes or pick up your pen and make a list of what’s working. I know you can come up with five or ten items. What’s happened in the last week or two that is working, or what actions do you engage in daily that work for you every day.

There are some very high profile people that speak to literally re-training the brain in order to achieve more. Napoleon Hill spoke about it in his ‘Think And Grow Rich’ book. Re-training your brain can change your life, change your business and alter those around you. It will definitely enrich your life in countless ways. Choosing to train yourself for success is like getting ready for a marathon. Every day you exercise and concentrate on ‘feeding’ yourself to be at the top of your game.

Have you heard the phrase ‘what you focus on expands’? Now you can control what expands in your life. Focus on what’s working, today. Then tomorrow you can focus again, then the day after that. Each time you notice something working, give yourself a silent (or not so silent) acknowledgement, and when something isn’t working, take notice. Then STOP. Take a breath and turn your attention away, thinking of a way to either make it work, or move on. As a personal challenge, take control of your thoughts for 30 days, and see what happens. You’ll have a new habit. A habit that supports your growth, fostering new, beneficial thoughts, allowing you to reach your dreams with much less effort.

Use your mind to work for you, and you’ll reach your goals much faster, with less effort and stress. Now that’s something worth trying out!