Did you know that if your ratio of positive thoughts to negative thoughts drops below three-to-one you undermine your happiness? If you can create a positive ratio of five-to-one or higher “your relationships will thrive and your business will grow” so say Mark Waldman and Andrew Newberg, MD, authors of How God Changes Your Brain.
In a March article in Science of Mind Magazine Waldman and Newberg say that we are wired neurologically to first look for what is wrong and give less weight to the positive. They offer a process to help retrain your brain pattern to focus on positive thoughts. You can read that article here.
If you find that the process they offer in the article is a bit daunting for you, you might try a modification. Rather than writing down every positive and negative thought on days one and two, begin by noticing those thoughts and perhaps saying to yourself, that’s a negative thought, or that’s a positive thought. That alone will bring your awareness to the frequency of those thoughts. Someone suggested using a little click counter to keep track.
On day three interrupt each negative thought and restate it with something that is more nourishing to you; perhaps the opposite of the negative thought. For example, when you hear your critical voice say “That was a stupid thing to do,” stop and say to yourself: “I’m making the best choice I can at this moment with the information I have,” or some other self-affirming statement. Use their end of day journaling and meditation suggestion and see how you feel at the end of seven days. Let me know what you learn. I’d love to hear from you.
