Boosting Positivity in Your Life & Making the Future Come Alive with Possibility  

“I am.” A simple yet profound phase. Two clear, short words that shape your entire reality, since the words that follow “I am…” reveal how you view yourself. If you constantly say to yourself “I am sad,” you will begin to personify sadness. The brain is similar to a computer: what you put in it is the program you will view thru the lens of your mind.

This applies to our thoughts, who we choose to spend time with, what we read, what programs we watch, and what we listen to. In other words, whatever we to choose to give energy to, is what we will focus on the most. So the life you currently live is a direct result of all these factors. Therefore, in order to have the life you want, you first need to understand who you are and, as importantly, where your focus lies.

The reason many of us don’t explore opportunities for our lives can sometimes come down to the fact  that we haven’t taken the time to develop a relationship with the one person we spend the most time with: ourselves. Throughout our years on earth we will invest time and effort into our families, friends, or work, yet many of us forget to invest in ourselves. We don’t explore our strengths, emotions, or thoughts. We don’t take the time to really delve into our dreams or dive into our passions. The natural tendency is to merely exist, so it can be easy to get caught up in the monotony of daily activity, and forget to be aware.

A Lightbulb Moment Turns into a Milestone Day

The moment I started the path of discovering myself was when I became aware of how much I (truly) disliked the woman in the mirror. It was the morning I almost lost my job. I was nearly two hours late for work, and this particular morning, I had changed my outfit for work over twenty times. It was normal for me to go into my closest and search for that one piece of clothing that was going to make me feel “better” about myself.

Yet every time I changed my outfit, I would instead look in the mirror and detest the way I looked. Later I would grow to learn it wasn’t the way I looked that I hated; it was the person inside that I had systematically destroyed by the words I spoke to myself. It was that moment that I said to myself, “I will never be her again.” My pain was strong enough, that it changed me. In life you can allow your pain to make you bitter, or you can use it to mold you. I made the choice to allow my pain to mold me.

A Plan to Lift Your Thoughts & Emotions

How do you change your thought patterns? In The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy explains that anything we want to change in our lives must first start with an awareness of our patterns.  And, in order to identify any pattern, there must be a record of activity. Here are some pointers for that:

• To help you keep track, I recommend a small notebook that you can carry with you.
• Throughout the day, begin to write down any thoughts that arise about yourself.
• Set multiple alarms on your phone to remind you to keep a record; this will continue to bring your focus back to your thoughts.
• After a week of writing down your thoughts, review them.

When I reviewed mine, I was shocked by the huge amount of negative thoughts about myself. I quickly recognized I did not believe in myself, and I most especially did not love myself.

In order to change you have to make a commitment. I made the decision to reverse my thoughts. Every time I had a negative thought, I wrote down one item I loved about myself on a Post-it. I put the Post-it on my wall. (As this process went on, I have to laughingly say my wall looked similar to a scene from the movie A Beautiful Mind!) The serious part: my wall became more and more covered in Post-its — until one day it dawned on me that I didn’t have one negative thought. So it was at that point that I reversed the process: I took down a Post-it every day I did not have a negative thought. Thus is the power in writing down and then reading your thoughts. Change begins when you stop the negative thought in its tracks, and replace it with a positive thought.

More Steps to Design a Redefinition of Yourself

It’s important to first become aware of the thoughts you currently have, so that now you can start building more positive thoughts about yourself. Therefore, within your same notebook, start writing down three positive “I am…” thoughts a day (e.g. “I am smart,” “I am creative,” “I am determined,’ “I am successful,” etc.) However – and this is important —  don’t simply write down “I am…” thoughts on who you currently are — also write down “I am…” thoughts of who you aspire to be. Start to visualize and dream about where you want to be. Then, each day after you have written your three thoughts, read the other (positive) thoughts you have written previously about yourself, allowing the repetition to create a solid foundation within yourself.

You will find that knowing who you are, in a positive sense, will go a long way towards alleviating your fears: you can step into any moment in life with confidence once you have a relationship with yourself. And it won’t matter what anyone else says about you, because you have learned to love yourself.

Points to Ponder – and to Use for Uplift  in Your Life

You are a unique individual. There is only one you, with your talents, skills, and strengths. Everyone on this earth has something to offer. Yet many of us live on the “someday aisle,” instead of taking action and using our talents. Life can be gone in a blink of an eye. Learn about yourself now. Begin to read books that will help you grow. Start surrounding yourself with top thinkers. Set goals that make you have to reach. Take a risk, and chase your dreams. Listen that that inner voice. If it says to draw, then draw. If every cell in your body craves to write a book, write a book. Don’t worry about the money or how it is going to work out. Take a leap of faith in yourself. Take action and focus. Let life reveal to you the path. Make a vow to yourself, and become unstoppable.

There is a quote, “Live every moment as if it is your last, because one day it will be.” This is true for everyone; time waits for no one. Ask yourself today, what would make your life remarkable? If you knew your time were limited, what would you do, who would you be, and where would you go? What makes you come alive?

I promise the more you ask yourself these questions, the clearer the answers will become. Deep inside, you know who you truly are meant to be. Once you have a clear direction, visualize that you are that person, and then live in that vision right now. Direct your thoughts. Believe it is possible. You can do anything — but first, you must expect it of yourself. Your life is in your hands; your dreams are in your control. The question is, will you take the opportunity?