Identifying Toxic Mental Patterns and Switching to Positive Thoughts for a Happier, Successful Self  

Thoughts play a strong role in how we are perceived by others, but more importantly, they create a belief system within each of us. To be successful and happy in this world, it is crucial that we begin to identify thought patterns we have created, and learn to steer our thoughts in the direction we want our life to go.

To begin to understand the patterns created within ourselves, we must first identify the pattern of emotions that repeat in our lives. Start a list, as follows:

• On one side, you have the majority of the higher emotional states that you regularly experience: happiness, joy, peace, compassion, etc.
• On the other side, write down all of your frequent lower emotional states: sadness, anger, frustration, fear, unworthiness, etc.
• Once each list is completed, take a look. Which list is longer?

Do not judge this; instead, become aware of what you’re feeling – in other words, ask yourself what you are projecting daily. To get a better handle on this task, realize that emotions are reflected through body language; for instance, when you visualize a person who is angry, there are key mannerisms that anyone could easily identify. That person may appear to be red in the face, breathing heavily, with a tense body, a hardened expression — and the list goes on and on.

So, when you think about your body, what language is it reflecting every day? Take ten minutes, sit with yourself, and observe your body as it rests naturally. You may be surprised by some of its tendencies.  In general, is your posture straight, are you smiling, are your arms crossed, or are they open?

The important part is not to judge or be upset by what is revealed. Why? Because understanding your emotions and body language is the first step towards changing your daily patterns into what you wish to create. Focus is always the key to changing; what you focus on is what will expand. If you want to focus on creating more love in your life, then you should think about love, read about love, watch about love, listen to love songs; completely surround yourself with the emotion of love. This will begin creating new neuron paths within your brain, and after a short while, a new habit is created in your life. Understand you can’t just say you want “to feel love” — you have to commit to taking the action to feel love and make it an active practice in your daily routine. In a nutshell: you don’t attain your “shoulds” or “woulds” — you attain your “musts.”

How to Reverse Negative Power

Continuing to repeat a negative story or situation in our minds is easy. I am sure all of us have had something go wrong in our lives, and when it does, our natural tendency is to look for someone to commiserate with us and listen to our story. But instead of living in that negative space, when you find yourself repeating the story or living in the “woe is me” mentality, immediately tell yourself to stop.  Next:

• Use the negative to be a building block, your foundation, to shape you into the person you want to be. Do not wallow; instead, thrive from it.
• How to do this? Command your mind to make a shift, and start thinking about the positive elements that you can learn from that particular situation.
• In fact, I urge you to take it a step further: take a few moments, and visualize the person who has wronged you.  Put them on an empty stage, and begin to imagine good things happening to that person.
• This may be difficult, but the point is that a place of anger cannot exist from a place that is love or caring. Spot take the time to forgive them, even if they are in the wrong from your perspective. Forgiveness has little to do with the other person; it has everything to do with you. When you forgive, you get rid of that negative energy, and turn it into positive.

Next, think about this: What are you passionate about? And, what is one negative mental habit that, if changed right now, it would alter the whole course of your life and your business in a positive direction? Understanding your emotions and then creating new ones around a positive direction, will change the course of our lives. So mull over this thought: within the business sphere, if you set out to sell a product and come from a place of confidence and passion, you are more likely to be successful than someone who comes from a place of fear or indifference.

You can change anything externally in your life: your job, your career, your appearance, etc. However, if you don’t change your mindset, you will never really achieve the fulfillment you are looking for. Trust me, it is not easy to overcome negative behaviors; it will challenge you, but the rewards, benefits and talents you will develop overcoming these obstacles will amaze you. Reaching the other side and getting closer to the core of who you are, stepping right into your fears and emotions – and then tackling them with compassion and detachment — will project you forward.

In the end, when you develop a positive mindset and emotional state, it will open doors. Opportunities will begin to present themselves. So make a commitment to face your fears and emotions now; do this over and over again, and don’t give up. Once you are fully determined and decide not to quit, nothing can stand in your way: there is nothing as powerful as a person’s changed mindset.