“Thoughts become things” is a well-known phrase, as many of us understand that when we think positively, good things happen and vice versa. However, how many of us make a concentrated effort to train our thoughts? Just as we train our bodies through daily exercise, we can also be putting in the hard work to train our minds. This article will uncover 5 tactics to train the mind, promote a positive inner narrative, and improve the quality of your life.
Each and every one of us goes through our daily lives listening to our thoughts, as if being told a story by our own personal narrator. Sometimes that narrator is our best friend, and other times our worst enemy. This ceaseless inner chatter influences us to take action -or not- and those actions make up what we experience on a daily basis.
Sometimes that voice in our head can be so strong, that we feel absolutely powerless over our thoughts. The secret is to take back the power and influence the narrative, creating the positive results we want for ourselves.
Consider the following example:
Susan wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror and her inner narrator says, “I look like a mess and I will never be successful.” Ouch! Susan then proceeds to get dressed and ready for work.
Now let’s say that the new Susan wakes up the following morning after reading this blog post, looks in the mirror and says, “I am beautiful inside and out and success comes naturally to me.” Susan then proceeds to get dressed and ready for work.
All else being equal, over a given period of time, the new Susan you see walking out the door to work will look almost unrecognizable to the old Susan. Dressed well, head held high, and greeting the neighbors with a big smile on her face.
When we disrupt the thought patterns that do not serve us and create new ones that serve us, we become the best versions of ourselves and get the results that we want. This is what we mean by “thoughts become things.”
Just as you would not expect “six-pack” abs after spending a few hours in the gym, you can’t expect these changes to happen overnight. Our minds operate based on years and years of repeated habits and collective memory. The narrator in your mind has been singing the same song for years.
Here are 5 Tactics that you can use and implement immediately into your daily routine to get that narrator to sing a new tune.
Tactic 1: Surround yourself with positive people
When you surround yourself with people who think positively, you will adopt the same thought patterns. Join a networking group or a mastermind with people who operate on a higher, more positive frequency. Spend more time with people who are focused on growth and positivity and limit the time you spend with negative or toxic people.
Tactic 2: Create powerful affirmations and repeat them out loud every day
Below are a few examples of powerful affirmations:
Abundance: “Money comes to me easily and effortlessly”
Self-Love: “I love myself”
Generosity: “I always give when I can because I know it always comes back”
Affirmations are powerful tools to imbed positive and self-fulfilling thought patterns to the subconscious mind. Come up with affirmations that work for you and repeat those phrases to yourself morning and night. Make sure to pair the words with deep feelings and beliefs so that they really stick. As you repeat the words over time, you will begin to replace negative thought patterns with positive ones. These new positive thought patterns will promote action in alignment with their positive charge, thus creating real tangible positive results.
Tactic 3: Meditate every day
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that meditation is one of the tools listed here. These days it seems like it is on the short list to remedy just about any problem. Mediation is especially relevant here, however, because it teaches the student that they are separate from their thoughts. Through mediation we learn to clear our mind and to simply observe and release thoughts as they arise. As we get deeper into our practice, we understand that we are not our thoughts, but rather the one observing them. The better we are at separating ourselves from that inner chatter, and observing the narrative, the more effective we can be at influencing it to serve us.
Tactic 4: Journal every day
Similar to meditation, journaling is another effective way to observe our thoughts. Start with a stream of consciousness exercise. Write down all the thoughts as they come into your head in a free-flowing manner. Once complete, read the entry back to yourself, notice thought patterns both positive and negative. Question the validity of the negative statements and lean into and affirm the positive ones. Learn to tip the scales in your favor.
Another valuable journaling exercise is creating long lists. Try making lists of the following:
· List 20 things that you are grateful for
· List 20 reasons why you are special
· List 20 things you love about yourself
When you create long lists, the reticular activating system in your brain engages and seeks for evidence to find more of what you are listing out. For example, if you write down 20 things you love about yourself every morning, your mind searches the world for evidence that you are loved all day without you even knowing it. This has a very powerful impact on your inner voice.
Tactic 5: Take risks everyday
Lastly, it is important to take risks and step outside of your comfort zone every single day. These can be small risks even as simple as running an extra quarter mile on your run. The important thing is that you keep pushing the boundaries and challenging your belief system. The more you train your minds to believe that you can overcome obstacles, push through fear, and break new records, the more we believe in ourselves. Give your inner narrator something to talk about, take a risk and show him/her who’s boss!
Gaetano is a Principal at the Real Estate Investment and Development Firm, High Street Properties, and Founder of Level Up, a Real Estate Mastermind committed to the growth of its members.