Transform Your Life with These Seven Tips

Do you dwell on the negative in your life? Studies show that 80 percent of people’s thoughts are negative. What’s worse, people repeat these negative thoughts all day long. This repetition ingrains these negative thoughts in our minds. MRI Imaging shows that negative thoughts stimulate that part of the brain that creates depression and anxiety, making it even more difficult to break the pattern of negativity.

But you can break the pattern if you want. All you have to do is “re-program” yourself to think differently. How do you do that? First, you need to become a curious investigator of your thoughts by observing your inner dialog without judgment. That will teach you a lot about yourself. Also, ask yourself if you’ve adopted any thought patterns that don’t align with your personal truth. This exercise creates a greater awareness of your thought patterns and how your mind works.

Next, you need to make a conscious effort to think differently. You need to stop feeding yourself negative thoughts and cultivate more supportive ones. It can help you break the negative thinking that rules your life and encourages new and healthier thought patterns to emerge. More importantly, it empowers you to make better choices—the kind that lead to an inspired, creative, and fulfilling life.

Below are some proven tips that can help you shift to a healthier mindset:

1. Set an intention. It allows you to become more alert and mindful of your thoughts. Each morning, turn on your radar to pick up habitual negative thought patterns. From there, try to understand where they came from, then stop them in their tracks.

2. Live mindfully. Often, we exist on autopilot, thinking, reacting and speaking without being fully conscious. By giving yourself time to reflect out of your normal routine, you can begin to start seeing things as they are, not how you’ve been “programed” to see them. As you develop seeing through the eyes of a child again, a whole new world emerges for you to discover.

3. Follow your body’s clues. Feeling heaviness, tension, and tired? Check into see what thought patterns are playing in your head. Disempowering thoughts will never make your body feel expansive and light.

4. Keep inspiring company. Surround yourself with people that inspire you to learn, take responsibility, encourage you and help you look at the bright side of things.

5. Spend time in nature. Recalibrate your brainwaves by slowing down and tuning into the healing vibration of nature. Doing so reduces stress to your central nervous system, enabling you to focus your attention on more positive emotions.

6. Create a list of goals. Doing so will allow you focus on what you want in your life rather than what you don’t want. You can create a bucket list using words and images and post it in a visible place as a daily reminder of what you’d like to accomplish.

7. Practice! Try out new, positive ways to react to situations by using our reframing format, one of the many tools for success found in our Life Coach in-a- Book. It’s easy. All you have to do is follow the prompts to acknowledge the most pervasive thoughts that affect negatively, then reframe them more helpfully. Over time you will develop a repertoire of more helpful responses. You can download our free Reframing Exercise under the Tips & Resources section on our website.

Creating a healthier mindset can transform your life—especially if you expand your awareness of how you interact with others. Good communication skills are vital to developing rewarding personal and business relationships and generate success in every aspect of your life. Mike Bundrant’s article, The Importance of Communication Skills, discusses just how important good communication is to a successful life.

Bundrant, an NLP trainer and life coach, discusses ten studies on communication in his post. Each study underscores how critical effective communication is in life. They also highlight the benefits of effective communication. One study, for example, found that the top cause for divorce is poor communication.

And the thing people struggle with the most in a relationship, the study concludes, is effective communication. So, when you make developing healthier thought patterns a priority, you are also working towards establishing healthier, more fulfilling relationships. For some helpful tips to strengthen your communication skills, check out John Hawthorne’s article, Simple, Powerful Methods for Becoming a Great Communicator.

Shifting to a healthier mindset can create lasting change in your thinking—and your life. But it takes hard work and practice to break old patterns. Our seven tips can get you started on this road. With enough practice and work, your thoughts will begin to change. As they do, you’ll find it easier and easier to think more positively. Dwelling on the negative will be a thing of the past. That, in turn, will transform your life and lead to greater success and happiness.