As I mentioned before I am kind of curious as to how and if the phenomenon known as The Law of Attraction works. We talked about the use of the right kind of affirmations (see previous post) to oneself as a component in this manifestation theory. But an equally large part of it involves using your mind to create mental “movies” of events or situations that you would like to happen.

What we think about and subsequent events that occur in our lives are sometimes too close to be regarded as coincidence. You think to yourself, “I knew that was going to happen”. What you think about dictates your behaviour and attitudes, and consequently our actions and the lives of the people around us. As are our thoughts, so are our lives so it is important to be careful about what we think about, especially repeated thoughts.

Our thoughts are accompanied by a visual image and what we see with our “inner eye” on a repeated basis shapes our lives. It is like watching the same DVD repeatedly. But if we want to change what we see on our mental DVD we have to change the DVD. New mental images if played over time will foster new behaviours, attitudes and actions and attract these new thoughts will attract the corresponding  people, events and situations into our lives.

This mental process of repeated playing of your new DVD is known as “visualization”. New ways of thinking cannot occur overnight with just one thought but need to be repeated often to gain strength and a strong root in the subconscious. This might sound like hard work requiring deep concentration but it is actually quite easy. All that is required is to choose the right thought and KEEP repeating it.

It is a little like daydreaming, where you are (often randomly) imagining a certain scenario you are involved in. Except that this is more like a practical form or daydreaming where you actively choose what to daydream about. Not only that but you can pick the details of your perfect scenario, right down to the colours, sounds, even smells of the scene in your mind.

If this created scene is played often enough in your mind, your subconcious will accept it unquestioningly, and naturally work on making the changes to your life to move it closer to this imagined reality.

In this way you can bring about changes such as developing new habits, gain new skills and pretty much anything you truly desire. This really can happen but you need to give it enough time and be sincere in your efforts, giving over the necessary time for your new way of thinking to gain power.

Visualization techniques do require mental work but they are not difficult. You may not realise it but you have probably used this power many times in the past without being consciously aware of what is happening internally. Now that you have an understanding of how it works, decide what it is that you want to achieve and start “daydreaming” about it during the day or a specific times, and with a little time these thoughts will get stronger and bring about inner and outer changes.

Thoughts are real things and can cause real change. Now you know how to use them in conjunction with affirmations, you have the ability to effect real improvements and transformations in your life.

Here are 10 positive thinking ideas to kick-start your year. They are just of a general nature and apply to a number of different situations and scenarios. They will help you to turn negative attitudes into positive thoughts that will hopefully allow you to change your outlook and realise a more positive outcome. I will add ten more next month and every month.

1. Only use positive words when talking. If you’re constantly telling yourself  “I can’t” you may convince yourself  that’s the truth. Replace these negative words with positive ones instead. Tell yourself you will do your best or that you will try your hardest instead.

2. Be constructive. Giving yourself cruel and unwarranted criticisms will not only put you in a bad mood it surely won’t help you improve either. Be constructive in your criticisms of yourself so you can grow and learn.

3. Associate yourself with those who think positively. Positivity is contagious, so find friends and family members who look on the bright side to surround yourself with.

4. Read an inspiring book. If you’re having trouble finding something inspiring about your life right now try getting inspired by the life of someone else by reading a book meant to inspire and uplift.

5. Fake it till you make it. One way to deal with a challenge is to create a feeling of confidence and happiness in yourself. At first this feeling might not be real, but over time you’ll start to actually feel happier and maybe even closer to your goal.

6. See the beauty in everything. Even if you’re in the worst mood, taking the time to look at all the beautiful things that surround you in the world can provide an instant and insightful way to lift your spirits.

7. Push out all feelings that aren’t positive. Don’t let negative thoughts and feelings overwhelm you when you’re feeling down. Even if it’s only for a few hours a day, push your negativity aside and only focus on the good things in your life.

8. Visualize a successful outcome. Sometimes it can be helpful to picture yourself completing a project successfully or getting the promotion you desire. This can encourage you and make you feel better about the situation.

9. Be glad your life isn’t boring. If nothing good or bad ever happened to you, likely you’d start to get pretty bored with your life. Take everything that is coming to you as a challenge and a way to keep yourself busy and interested in your life.

10. Watch your favorite sappy movie. Get a quick pick me up by watching your favorite movie or just your favorite scenes. You’ll get a smile or a laugh and forget whatever was getting you down.

Hope you find these tips inspiring and useful-more next month.

There are many ways to lose your sense of self-esteem but whatever happens, we should really try not to lose our own sense of self, that knowledge of who we really are underneath.

So what can we do to raise our self knowledge and put ourselves on the path to a fulfilled life?

1. Know your purpose

Maybe you are wandering through life with no real direction – hoping that happiness, health and prosperity will someday  come your way? Identify your life purpose or mission statement and you will have your own unique inner compass that will lead you in the right direction every time.
This may seem difficult at first when you see yourself as being in a tight or even dead end. Just make a commitment to a change of some sort, and see where it takes you. Even if you make a few wrong turns, it will eventually get you on the right path.

2. Know your values

What do you value most? List of your top 5 values. Some examples are security, freedom, family, spiritual development, learning. Check this against a list of personal goals. If any goal doesn’t align with any of your top five values – you may want to reconsider it or revise it.
The number shouldn’t discourage you, instead it should motivate you to do more than you ever dream of.

3. Know your needs

We all have personal needs. This is not selfish but an essential part of our character that can leave us unfulfilled if they are not met. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? There are so many people who lived their lives without realizing their dreams and most of them end up being stressed or even depressed for that matter. List your top four needs and take steps to get them satisfied.

4. Know your passions

We all have interests and passions in life and knowing what these are is a step toward self-knowledge. Our passions are like stepping stones to self-fulfillment as they map our characters and help to show us who we really are. By pursuing our passions we express ourselves and help us develop into the people we want to be.

5. Live from the inside out.

Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. If you live in a noisy city environment,get out and commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind by using meditation techniques. Or simply play some soothing music or read, both solitary activities that will clear the mind.

6. Honor your strengths

What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? List three – if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these. Are you imaginative, witty, good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths. You can increase your self-confidence when you can share what you know to others.

7. Serve others

When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others -your spirit – your essence. The rewards for sharing your gifts with those close to you is indeed rewarding, much more if it were to be the eyes of a stranger who appreciates what you have done to them.

Perhaps the greatest teachers of the art of thinking positively are children-they are the ultimate positive thinkers. They haven’t learned that life throws curve balls and that challenges are around every corner. They see life as a big adventure and it’s this kind of thinking that maybe you should try to adopt.

Think about a child in your life. They seem to have no fear of new things and will try anything once. They love life and are naturally optimistic and happy. They love to explore the world and what life has to offer, putting themselves out there just to learn.

This natural amazement for life is how they learn and how they develop their identity and allows them to live in a positive manner. Children do not jump to the negative because they are wired to believe there is good out there. They do not know about the negative aspects of the world because you shelter them from that.

If you can develop that child-like faith and stop yourself from dwelling on the bad in life, you will be on the way to thinking more positively. Just

slowing down and take time to enjoy life rather filling everyday with to- do’s will soon make it is easier to embrace the positive.

Here are some things that children do that you can bring into your life.

These things will help you to be able to look at the positive instead of the negative.

Explore new things. Instead of walking away from the unknown, walk towards it. Children are always exploring. This is how they learn. Let yourself start exploring again.

Do not walk away from a challenge. When children are met with a challenge, they get excited and look at it as a game. Engage in new challenges instead of walking away.

Make a mess. Children are messy and make messes because they are learning and simply do not care if they get a little messy in the process. Happiness can be messy and unrestricted.

Ignore the rules. Children ignore the rules all the time. Often it gets them into trouble, but many times, they end up having a fun time simply because they are doing something they were specifically told not to do. Defying authority can be an adrenaline rush. Break a few rules now and then and let yourself feel like a kid again.

Pretend. Make believe is a big part of being a child. Almost everything you do revolves around pretending. The imagination is a wonderful thing. Allow yourself to go to some make believe place. Get away for your normal life and pretend you are someone else. Have fun and you are sure to smile.

There are plenty more ways you can use the influence of a child to drive your progress towards a positive attitude. Watch children play. Just see what they do and take notes on how different their lives are from yours. How do they get through the day without stressing about every little thing?

Do not let yourself get hung up on the fact that they do not have responsibility. Responsibility should in no way hold you back from thinking positively. It is just an excuse, and excuses kill the positive mindset you are working so hard to build.

Just focus on being child-like. It will help to free yourself from some of the limiting and negative aspects of being a world-weary adult, and foster a renewed love of life.