Wednesday, November 24, 2010

30 day Positive Thinking Challenge!!

So, I've pretty much created this challenge for myself. I am a mental health therapist, and day in and day out I work with people that have severely negative self-images. The worst part is they don't realize it and they believe the negative opinions they have of themselves are truly who they are. This makes it nearly impossible for them to effect the change they wish because they are rooted in the belief that they can achieve nothing, are worthless and no one loves them.

So, I started noticing that I have a lot of negative self-talk myself. In discussion with a co-worker on sending out subconscious thoughts he postulated that our subconscious is only attuned to positive words and phrases and if we send out a negatively phrased desire "No pager calls" then our subconscious drops the No and delivers what we don't want "Pager calls".

So, For the next 30 days I will attempt to post some sort of status update daily, even if I have nothing of substance to post. Although there are many ways to hedge phrases and words that have negative values, to make this simple, I am avoiding the use of words that specify the negative and here's a list for you.

***ADDED THREE NEW WORDS BEFORE n't***

  • No
  • Not
  • Never
  • None
  • Nothing
  • Nowhere
  • Neither
  • Nobody
  • No one
  • Hardly
  • Scarcely
  • Barely
  • Should
  • Always
  • Usually
  • Only
  • n't (don't, won't, couldn't, etc)
So, from now on, instead of saying "I don't want to go to the movies" I will say instead "I want to stay home" "I want to go to a friend's house" etc. This may even help me challenge my indecisiveness as to state something in the positive such as in the example I must have a firm idea of what I want. It's so easy to decline something because then you are not required to offer an alternative.

So, dear readers, please keep me accountable. If you see me post a negative word listed above, shout it out in the comments!!! The first to catch me at it will receive a Babydust temporary tattoo! Hee hee.  And the challenge will begin with my next post.

3 comments:

One Day at a Time said...

ooh this should be fun!

Ms. Polka Dottie said...

I'll keep an eye out! I'm going to try this in life. I need to get rid of the words not and never.

Melissa @MotherhoodWantd said...

I am also adding the words "always" "usually" and "only". Although they are not negation words, superlatives like always/never and other words like these can turn a statement more negative. Like "He ONLY takes the trash out when I tell him to" VS "He takes the trash out when I tell him to" Much more positive!!

Motherhood Wanted approved!

Motherhood Wanted approved!
Diana Farrell, MA

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Motherhood Wanted approved!