Financial writer Cait Flanders has a quote – “What consumes your mind controls your life.”
In order to be successful, you will need to focus on your mindset and the way you think. While you will have to take massive action and go through the necessary struggles to achieve success, without the right mindset, you will not even begin.
And if you do begin, you will quit halfway and abort all chances of success. So it is imperative that you get your thinking right.
This might seem like an impossible battle for too many people. How do you change the way you think?
After all, you have been thinking this way for years. Trying to overhaul your pattern of thinking overnight can seem like a Herculean task.
- Is it easy to reframe your thoughts?
Here is what is amazing – you can instantly do it. Yes, you can! You can change the way you think almost instantly by applying a technique known as ‘reframing’.
While it will not stop the deluge of negative thoughts that flood your mind on a constant basis, it will help you look at things from a new angle. When you practice reframing your thoughts constantly, after about 21 days or so, you will notice that you think less negatively.
After a few months, you will be more positive than you ever were before.
- How do you reframe your thoughts?
The technique itself is very simple. All you need to do is flip your thoughts from negative to positive.
For example, when you are thinking of starting a new business, your mind may cogitate a million and negative thoughts. You might think, “I do not know how to do it!”
This negative thought may be true. You may be clueless about starting a business. But instead of just giving up on your dream, you must reframe the thought and speak it aloud.
Go ahead and say, “I will learn how to do it. I will find out what I need to.”
Is there anything stopping you from finding out how to start a business? Of course not! You just need to do the research and legwork to find out what needs to be done.
Almost all negative thoughts are indefensible when you reframe them.
If you are amid trying to achieve your goal and your mind tells you it is too difficult, reframe it and say, “This is a challenge. I can handle it!”
If you feel like you are not ready, tell yourself, “There is never been a better time than now!” Of course, there has not. Just get started and learn as you go.
Even older adults are not immune to negative thinking. A common excuse that is often tossed about like it’s gospel truth is, “I’m too old. There is not enough time.”
Reframe that senior moment and say, “There is still time. It is possible!”
Worried that you will encounter failure? Go ahead and tell yourself that every failure is a rung for you to climb up toward success… and it is.
Do not say you cannot! Say you will learn how to do it.
Motivational speaker, Jim Rohn used to say, “Do not wish it were easier. Wish you were better.” This is reframing at its finest.
As you can see, reframing your thoughts is not rocket science. Anyone can do it. You just need to feel that it is possible for you to succeed and look at things in a positive way… and speak your reframed thought out loud so you believe it more.
With time, you will be an optimist par excellence and will not be sabotaging yourself with negative self-talk. Now, you will attract success more readily.
ALEX J NAGEL
January 13 2023
