Every Day Positive Thoughts

Here is how to get started:

Negative thoughts are often accompanied by negative images and negative feelings in the body. For example, the thought, "I can't handle this" may cause your heart to race or make your stomach queezy. To create daily positive thoughts, you must turn the negative thought into a positive feeling.

1. Turn the negative thought into an exaggerated negative mental image. For example, if your negative thought is, "I am afraid of the future," then imagine yourself shuffling down the sidewalk, pushing a shopping cart. See yourself as being all alone, without anyone to turn to for help. Really exaggerate the image for the best result.

Do you hear cars rushing past? Is the day hot and sunny or cold and windy? Does the shopping cart have a wobbly wheel, making it difficult to push and steer? Spend 5 minutes replaying this scene over and over again in your mind until you reach the point where thinking the negative thought is linked with this extreme image.

2. Question the negative thought and image . Is it really true that your future will turn out as you imagine? What is the evidence that you will have no friends or relatives to turn to and end up homeless? Place yourself directly in that negative scene and ask, " What would I do next?"

You are an intelligent human being. Even if you did end up pushing a shopping cart down the sidewalk, what would you do with the rest of your day? Remember, the negative image from step one is just a sliver of your future - it is impossible that all you will do is push that shopping cart 24 hours a day! Perhaps you will call a friend or relative and ask for help or go to a shelter or exchange your skills for a safe place to sleep and some food.

3. Select a positive thought to replace the negative thought. The replacement thought should be short, meaningful and immediately memorized. It will become one of your daily positive thoughts. Pick a positive thought that you would like to have instead of the negative one.

Often, the negative thought feels true. It can be a struggle to come up with a positive thought to replace the negative thought. It is easiest for me to say replace a negative thought with its' exact opposite. For example, "I am afraid of the future" becomes "I am not afraid of the future" or "I welcome the future."

4. See yourself living your life with this positive thought. So with the thought, "I welcome the future," you might imagine yourself smiling with your arms wide open to receive whatever comes your way. Visualize life coming at you and see yourself standing tall and confident. Picture yourself standing on a stage or a hilltop, high above all your challenges, arms raised in victory. Do the "Rocky" victory dance :-)

5. Every day for the next two weeks, add on a positive thought and mental image. The daily positive thoughts and motivational pictures will stack up and overwhelm your negative ones. At the end of two weeks, you will have 14 positive thoughts to conquer that one negative thought. Your life will be filled with more positive thoughts than negative thoughts. Every day positive thoughts are quickly achievable and fun :-)

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