The first step is one of awareness. It will be hard to make a change to positive thinking without
being acutely intimate with the thoughts that run through your mind. Recently, I was amazed to disco
ver deep buried emotions from negative thoughts that I had for fewer than 10 minutes. Without awaren
ess, I would have carried the hurt and anger inside. Awareness helped me to bring them out to the op
en for me to deal with.
　　Undoubtedly it will not be easy to make a switch if you have a long history or negative self talk.
Your talk became negative over the years due to various factors. For instance, if your first grade
teacher repeatedly told you that you were "stupid", you might believe it to be truly the case. You w
ould find that your inner chatter would often be filled with talk of "I am so slow" and "it is so ha
rd to learn". If you constantly tell yourself such negative stories, your actions are going to refle
ct your low self esteem. It will be difficult to get very far if you are always putting yourself dow
n.
　　A common negative talk involves telling yourself "I can’t". When you say to yourself "I can’t" or
"it is too difficult", you are creating a resistance. Having such a mental block will prevent you fr
om achieving a task you could otherwise succeed at.
　　Anytime you catch yourself saying "I can’t…", turn around and challenge your own claim with, "Why
can’t I?" Research shows that most geniuses became the people they are also because of the hard work
they put in. So if you would like to be successful, you need to start saying "I can" a lot more.
　　A great method that I have also found useful is to say "Cancel Cancel" each time I find myself say
ing something negative, whether in the mind or verbally. The method works if you sincerely have the
intent of becoming a positive thinker.
　　positive Affirmations
　　Affirmations are positive statements of a desired outcome or goal. They are usually short, believa
ble and focused. By repeating them over and over again, you build inroads into your subconscious min
d, opening up the possibility of a new state of thoughts.
　　An important step when repeating affirmations is that you need to read your affirmations aloud wit
h feeling. The mere reading of the words bears no consequence unless you put some emotions behind th
em. Of significant fact is that your subconscious mind takes any orders given in complete faith and
after repeated self talk. So the daily practice of repeating affirmations is important.
　　Initially you may be skepticism toward the statement of your positive affirmation. However, if you
follow this simple set of instructions your skepticism will soon give way to a new set of beliefs a
nd then crystallized into absolute faith.
　　positive Scripts
　　One thing that you may observe is on how easy it is for your mind to build negative thought upon n
egative thought. The chatter not only does not stop but it spins a drama that traps and limits you.
　　From now on, regularly do this exercise instead. Spin an uplifting story that runs like a movie sc
ript. Some visualization will be helpful. You build on a story with a positive outline. The longer y
ou can tell this story to yourself the better. It is also best if you can make this story one about
having all your goals achieved. When you do this, you start to internalize your goals and dreams, as
if they are something that you have already achieved.
　　Replace Negative Influences with positive Ones
　　It is important that you identify external negative factors in your life which may be holding your
thoughts hostage. For instance, your mental state can become toxic by being around friends who are
negative. If you are not vigilant enough, you will start to adopt their thoughts as your own. Hence,
be alert to what your negative influences are. If they come from certain friends, limit your exposu
re to them as much as you can. Refrain from discussing your plans with people who will be unsupporti
ve of your dreams and goals.
　　Instead surround yourself with thoughts and actions from people who will empower you.
　　From being uninspired and de-motivated, you will begin to feel uplifted and driven to greater self
growth. The positive energy that they vibrate will start affecting the self talk that you engage in
as well.
　　Present Tense Messages
　　You may find yourself daunted by the many things you need to do in order to reach your goals. It j
ust seems overwhelming to become the success that you secretly desire for. Your mind gets caught up
in an endless stream of worry.
　　What may be helpful is to concentrate on steps you can take in the present. If you find yourself b
ecoming stuck, stop and say, "What can I do right now?" Change your internal talk from a future anxi
ety ridden one to one that is about the more manageable present. You cannot control what will happen
in the future but you can take the necessary steps now that will build a better tomorrow. Taking th
e necessary steps require you to focus your thoughts and inner talk on Now.
　　Confront Fears
　　Fear is often what holds you back from your success. You are scared of taking chances because you
fear losing the security that you enjoy now. You try to convince yourself that you are happy in your
current state when in fact, you are not. Your self talk may sound positive in your attempt to lie t
o yourself. But somehow, there is an inner knowing that you are short changing yourself.
　　Ask yourself what you are afraid of. What can be the worst that can happen? Take a step-by-step ap
proach in breaking down your fears and see if there is any way round to looking at things more posit
ively. When you confront your fears, you will often realize that the worst case scenario is not as b
ad as you think. In fact, the benefits of change are worth the risk. Your inner talk begins to chang
e at this point.