What we think and say can have a dynamic impact on our attitude and experience. It may seem obvious to some, but it’s taken me many years to fully absorb how my thoughts and words powerfully influence my mood, feelings and day-to-day experience.
I used to get buried under clouds of habitual negative thinking and reinforce the bad weather with self-absorbed analysis and complaints. Now I’m more inclined to notice the cloudy thoughts and let them move through before they overtake my mind and conversation.
Meditation has been an important tool for increasing mindfulness by helping me notice thoughts and feelings in the present moment. Visualization has allowed me to imagine other ways of thinking and speaking until I’m able to embrace the alternatives as real. And affirmations have reinforced new ideas, visions and goals by planting the seeds of change in my subconscious through diligent repetition.
If you want to test the power of your thoughts and words, start by paying more attention to what you’re thinking and saying. Try listening to your constant mind chatter and notice what you say to others. This mindful approach to your thoughts and words is a good first step in identifying their connection to your attitude and experience. When you’re ready to work on changing your thinking and conversation, meditation, visualization and affirmations can be effective tools for this process of change. (see Meditation Focus: A Matter of Time post) – AR