Our thoughts are powerful. Yet, we tend to underestimate just how important they are in shaping our experience of life. Our thoughts become our beliefs, and our beliefs inform the choices we make.
We know when something is wrong with our body – we have a toothache or a pulled muscle that requires attention. But when it comes to our mind, we often choose to suffer in silence. We may not even recognize we are suffering at all! Negative thoughts are sneaky and can work their way in without us realizing it. They can have detrimental effects to ourselves and the people around us.
It’s easy to say that everyone should think positively all the time, but it is one of the biggest challenges we face in our daily lives. Here are 5 steps to make positive thinking a little bit easier:
- Know that you can do anything with the help of the Creator. Every one of us has the ability to connect with the Creator. This means there is nothing we cannot do or manifest. When faced with a challenge, know that you have the entire force of creation behind you, helping and guiding you.
The next time you think, “Can I possibly do this? Do I have the strength, the wisdom, or the skills,” remind yourself that it is not just you, but you and the Light of the Creator together. Nothing is impossible as long as you believe it.
- Understand you are worthy and powerful. Many of our negative thoughts are about ourselves. We tend to be our own harshest critics. Some of these thoughts begin in our childhood, and we continue to give them energy as we grow up. The more energy we give to these thoughts, the more we start to accept them as reality and believe they are things about ourselves we cannot change.
We all have areas that we need to improve and grow, but nothing we can say or do takes away from the perfection of our souls. Remember that you have a spark of the Creator within you. The Creator knows that you are worthy and wants you to have all of the blessings you desire. Know that you are meant to have total fulfillment in life, just by being you. Open yourself up to the abundant blessings that are waiting to enter your life.
- Nip negative thoughts in the bud. How many negative thoughts do you have throughout the day? Most of the time, we don’t even notice them! These smaller “pre-thoughts” accumulate and become larger, dominant thoughts over time. When we repeatedly think things like, “I don’t like the way my pants fit, I don’t like the way I look in this picture, I don’t look as good as someone else,” the thoughts eventually become, “I’m fat. I’m ugly. People don’t find me attractive. I’m not worthy of love.
It’s okay to want to lose a little bit of weight or to recognize other areas of improvement in your life. We are meant to grow and change, after all. But don’t let your self-assessment turn into self-hate. Take note when these thoughts creep in, no matter how small they seem, and actively choose to combat them. The sooner you recognize and reject them, the less they are able to plant their seeds and grow.
- Find the opportunity in the obstacle. Positive thinking doesn’t remove the obstacles from our lives, but it changes the way we feel when we go through them. Our experience of life is shaped by our perspective - what will break one person won’t even phase another, just based on the way they think.
Most of us can look back on our challenges and see how they shaped us into stronger, more capable people but have difficulty seeing it in the moment. Absolutely everything that happens to us, from a waiter being nasty at dinner to the death of a loved one, comes from the Creator and has a purpose in our spiritual growth.
Trust that the Creator wants you to grow, even if you can’t see how right now. Look for the lesson and the opportunity in every challenge. Start this practice, and you will see a difference in your experience of your life.
- Practice, practice, practice! Changing our thought process is no easy task. It takes a commitment and a desire to change. Being spiritually evolved doesn’t mean you instantly see every obstacle as a positive, but you will start to notice that the things that used to upset you don’t upset you as much now. This is an important measure of our growth. Positive thinking takes effort and practice until it starts to feel effortless, but it is one of the most important influences on our experience of life.
Thinking positively doesn’t mean being naïve or delusional, and it doesn’t mean that you don’t experience true hardships in life. It is about recognizing the challenges you face and actively choosing to use them as a way to reveal Light in the world. Your ability to change the way you think is your greatest superpower. Own it, take charge of your life, and experience the miracles that occur.
