Secret 1 Your Thoughts Control Your Life

Change Your Mind. Change Your Life. There Is Power in Positive Thinking.

Remember the story of the train yard when the large engine would not pull a heavy load and a little engine stepped up and said, "I think I can." The engine completed the task and at the end was saying, "I thought I could, I thought I could."

— Watty Piper, The Little Engine That Could

If we think we can, we can. If we think we can't, we can't. It's simple, right? Even the little engine got the idea. But why is it so hard for us to believe it and live by it? Who told you that you can't? Why did he or she tell you that? Are you telling yourself that you can't? And why are you listening?

One of the biggest secrets to success is positive self-talk. At a young age we are programmed how to think and act and know what to do, wear, say, and eat. Society constructs cookie-cutter humans that fit into a status quo. Society has an "act this way or else" mentality. Keep up with the Joneses or else. Buy this car or else. Buy this house or else!

Stop! Ask yourself, "Or else what?" Why are you thinking this way and letting the media, society, or others tell you to think like this? Whether you realize it or not, society has already chosen your choices for you. Society dictates our preferences and likes, along with the can't haves, don't wants, don't do it, don't say it, and don't be it. All are programmed — with and without our knowledge — into our mind over and over again by celebrities, teachers, parents, pastors, bosses, strangers, classmates, and even well-meaning friends.

But we start to believe their thoughts, suggestions, recommendations, and opinions. Then we make them our own thoughts. Just look at family patterns and habits. This usually rings true. Now I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't listen to your parents or friends. I'm proposing that you think about what you are listening to. Change the way you think. Period.

Whether you think you can or not, you are right.

Henry Ford

We hold onto negative experiences, disappointments, and perceived failures. Why? It's easy to let those thoughts into your life. It's harder to see the positive in the negative. But to be successful, you need to see negative experiences, disappointments, and failures as a positive learning experience. You must find the success in the failure. You need to replace these negative feelings and thoughts with good, positive, confident self-talk and experiences.

If I think I can, I can. Say it to yourself. If I think I can, I can. Repeat it. If I think I can, I can. Now believe it. Why not focus on this one statement? Why not believe in yourself for a change? Why not go the extra mile? Nothing worth working for is ever easy. If you want to be successful, this will become your mantra and personal goal statement. Write it down. Say it while you're driving. Let it be the first thing you think when you wake up. Why not each day be thankful and grateful for being alive and healthy? Why not say, "I am great at what I do, who I am, where I've come from, and where I want to go?" The more you verbalize and believe in the positive things in life, the more you will notice and attract those things.

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

Wayne Dyer

Let's think about a typical day in your life. If you start the day in a state of positive expectation, doesn't the day go better for you? You are looking for the good and finding it. You are attracting the good to you.

If your job were working at a fish market, would you be able to find the positive in that? Think about it: smelly fish, cold and wet conditions, and a potentially hazardous environment. Most people would not like this as their daily job. Many would not find it enjoyable; however, there is a story about a fish market where each day the excitement and fun is such a high level that the workers create joy and happiness for their customers and themselves. It is one of the busiest fish markets in the United States and has been studied because of the positive work environment.

These workers chose to be positive, along with their approach to life. It increased their happiness and the success of the business. By expecting negative or bad experiences, you will attract the same. You will be looking for those things because you are proving yourself right or correct. Choose positive. Think positive. Speak positive. Be positive.

With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

When you choose to be positive and think this way, you will find yourself looking at your life differently. Have you ever spilled your coffee on the way to work and then thought to yourself, "It's going to be one of those days"? You have immediately set yourself up to start thinking negatively. You will begin unconsciously looking for things throughout your day that confirm this belief. Your mind essentially acts as a yes-man, telling you what you want to believe. The next thing you know, your whole day is ruined. But really it was ruined before it even started.

This negativity creeps around us on a day-to-day basis. Why? It's easy to think like this and keep finding things that confirm your beliefs. Looking at things differently requires work and practice. It necessitates you to look at an event or situation differently. Abraham Lincoln once said, "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."

Successful people think in a way that focuses on solutions to problems, situations, or current issues. An unsuccessful person focuses on the problem, talks about it, and then discusses the issue with anyone and everyone who will listen. He or she does not really want a solution because his or her problem is more important than looking for and finding a solution. This would limit the sympathy and attention he or she would receive as a result of the problem.

As humans, we need attention and the feeling that we belong. According to sociocultural psychologists, the need to belong is one of the most important determinants of behavior. When everyone around you is being negative, it's easy to join in. In fact, having things to complain about at work or home or on the news stimulates conversation for many people.

In order to be successful, you must stop the cycle of negative thinking conformity and think positively. Unfortunately unsuccessful people continue to draw more problems to themselves, and they are creating their life and their choices. Successful people want to find a solution...