10 Deadly Sins of Negative Thinking

The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing, positive emotions that are stronger and more powerful. - Dalai Lama
Life could be so much better for many people, if they would just spot their negative thinking habits and replace them with positive ones.
Negative thinking, in all its many-splendored forms, has a way of creeping into conversations and our thinking without our noticing them. The key to success, in my humble opinion, is learning to spot these thoughts and squash them like little bugs. Then replace them with positive ones. Youll notice a huge difference in everything you do.
Lets take a look at 10 common ways that negative thinking emerges ” get good at spotting these patterns, and practice replacing them with positive thinking patterns.

10 Deadly Sins of Negative Thinking

1. I will be happy once I have _____ (or once I earn X).

Problem: If you think you cant be happy until you reach a certain point, or until you reach a certain income, or have a certain type of house or car or computer setup, youll never be happy. That elusive goal is always just out of reach. Once we reach those goals, we are not satisfied ” we want more.
Solution: Learn to be happy with what you have, where you are, and who you are, right at this moment. Happiness doesnt have to be some state that we want to get to eventually ” it can be found right now. Learn to count your blessings, and see the positive in your situation. This might sound simplistic, but it works.

2. I wish I were as ____ as (a celebrity, friend, co-worker).

Problem: Well never be as pretty, as talented, as rich, as sculpted, as cool, as everyone else. There will always be someone better, if you look hard enough. Therefore, if we compare ourselves to others like this, we will always pale, and will always fail, and will always feel bad about ourselves. This is no way to be happy.
Solution: Stop comparing yourself to others, and look instead at yourself ” what are your strengths, your accomplishments, your successes, however small? What do you love about yourself? Learn to love who you are, right now, not who you want to become. There is good in each of us, love in each of us, and a wonderful human spirit in every one of us.

3. Seeing others becoming successful makes me jealous and resentful.

Problem: First, this assumes that only a small number of people can be successful. In truth, many, many people can be successful ” in different ways.
Solution: Learn to admire the success of others, and learn from it, and be happy for them, by empathizing with them and understanding what it must be like to be them. And then turn away from them, and look at yourself ” you can be successful too, in whatever you choose to do. And even more, you already are successful. Look not at those above you in the social ladder, but those below you ” there are always millions of people worse off than you, people who couldnt even read this article or afford a computer. In that light, you are a huge success.

4. I am a miserable failure ” I cant seem to do anything right.

Problem: Everyone is a failure, if you look at it in certain ways. Everyone has failed, many times, at different things. I have certainly failed so many times I cannot count them ” and I continue to fail, daily. However, looking at your failures as failures only makes you feel bad about yourself. By thinking in this way, we will have a negative self-image and never move on from here.
Solution: See your successes and ignore your failures. Look back on your life, in the last month, or year, or 5 years. And try to remember your successes. If you have trouble with this, start documenting them ” keep a success journal, either in a notebook or online. Document your success each day, or each week. When you look back at what youve accomplished, over a year, you will be amazed. Its an incredibly positive feeling.

5. Im going to beat so-and-so no matter what ” Im better than him. And theres no way Ill help him succeed ” he might beat me.

Problem: Competitiveness assumes that there is a small amount of gold to be had, and I need to get it before he does. It makes us into greedy, back-stabbing, hurtful people. We try to claw our way over people to get to success, because of our competitive feelings. For example, if a blogger wants to have more subscribers than another blogger, he may never link to or mention that other blogger. However, who is to say that my subscribers cant also be yours? People can read and subscribe to more than one blog.
Solution: Learn to see success as something that can be shared, and learn that if we help each other out, we can each have a better chance to be successful. Two people working towards a common goal are better than two people trying to beat each other up to get to that goal. There is more than enough success to go around. Learn to think in terms of abundance rather than scarcity.

6. Dammit! Why do these bad things always happen to me?

Problem: Bad things happen to everybody. If we dwell on them, they will frustrate us and bring us down.
Solution: See bad things as a part of the ebb and flow of life. Suffering is a part of the human condition ” but it passes. All pain goes away, eventually. Meanwhile, dont let it hold you back. Dont dwell on bad things, but look forward towards something good in your future. And learn to take the bad things in stride, and learn from them. Bad things are actually opportunities to grow and learn and get stronger, in disguise.

7. You cant do anything right! Why cant you be like ____ ?

Problem: This can be said to your child or your subordinate or your sibling. The problem? Comparing two people, first of all, is always a fallacy. People are different, with different ways of doing things, different strengths and weaknesses, different human characteristics. If we were all the same, wed be robots. Second, saying negative things like this to another person never helps the situation. It might make you feel better, and more powerful, but in truth, it hurts your relationship, it will actually make you feel negative, and it will certainly make the other person feel negative and more likely to continue negative behavior. Everyone loses.
Solution: Take the mistakes or bad behavior of others as an opportunity to teach. Show them how to do something. Second, praise them for their positive behavior, and encourage their success. Last, and most important, love them for who they are, and celebrate their differences.

8. Your work sucks. Its super lame. You are a moron and I hope you never reproduce.

Problem: Ive actually gotten this comment before. It feels wonderful. However, lets look at it not from the perspective of the person receiving this kind of comment but from the perspective of the person giving it. How does saying something negative like this help you? I guess it might feel good to vent if you feel like your time has been wasted. But really, how much of your time has been wasted? A few minutes? And whose fault is that? The bloggers or yours? In truth, making negative comments just keeps you in a negative mindset. Its also not a good way to make friends.
Solution: Learn to offer constructive solutions, first of all. Instead of telling someone their blog sucks, or that a post is lame, offer some specific suggestions for improvement. Help them get better. If you are going to take the time to make a comment, make it worth your time. Second, learn to interact with people in a more positive way ” it makes others feel good and it makes you feel better about yourself. And you can make some great friends this way. Thats a good thing.

9. Insulting People Back

Problem: If someone insults you or angers you in some way, insulting them back and continuing your anger only transfers their problem to you. This person was probably having a bad day (or a bad year) and took it out on you for some reason. If you reciprocate, you are now having a bad day too. His problem has become yours. Not only that, but the cycle of insults can get worse and worse until it results in violence or other negative consequences ” for both of you.
Solution: Let the insults or negative comments of others slide off you like Teflon. Dont let their problem become yours. In fact, try to understand their problem more ” why would someone say something like that? What problems are they going through? Having a little empathy for someone not only makes you understand that their comment is not about you, but it can make you feel and act in a positive manner towards them ” and make you feel better about yourself in the process.

10. I dont think I can do this ” I dont have enough discipline. Maybe some other time.

Problem: If you dont think you can do something, you probably wont. Especially for the big stuff. Discipline has nothing to do with it ” motivation and focus has everything to do with it. And if you put stuff off for œsome other time, youll never get it done. Negative thinking like this inhibits us from accomplishing anything.
Solution: Turn your thinking around: you can do this! You dont need discipline. Find ways to make yourself a success at your goal. If you fail, learn from your mistakes, and try again. Instead of putting a goal off for later, start now. And focus on one goal at a time, putting all of your energy into it, and getting as much help from others as you can. You can really move mountains if you start with positive thinking.

Life is beautiful... !!!.

Enthusiasm

Why enthusiasm is something you should desire to have.

The saddest days of our lives are those that we can find nothing to be enthusiastic about. A persons enthusiasm is in direct proportion to the importance of what it is he is looking forward to.

There are all sorts of degrees of enthusiasm.

We tend to be more enthusiastic on Friday simply because it is the last day of the week and we have a free weekend coming up.

We tend to be more enthusiastic about going home from work at night then we are before leaving in the morning.

The most fortunate people on Earth live most of their life in a state of energizing enthusiasm.

There are two keys to enthusiasm, one comes from learning and the other comes from accomplishments.

Learning new things tends to keep our enthusiasm high, perhaps this explains the natural enthusiasm of children.

If you paid attention to children you would notice they are naturally enthusiastic and they are naturally happy.

The reason adults tend to lose a lot of their enthusiasm for living is that they usually stop learning. As soon as school is over they take the stand either consciously or unconsciously that they know enough.

Any learning they do from that point on they do passively, through the natural passage of time and experience, or again passively through the media news, television, newspaper or radio.

If new learning comes to them it does so largely through no effort at or minimal efforts on their part.

Learning little that's new or interesting makes their lives become repetitious, they see the same people, do the same things, then gradually all the enthusiasm runs from their lives.

An Inspirational Story

Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and choices today!

This is a story of an elderly carpenter who had been working for a contractor for many many years. He had built many beautiful houses but now as he was getting old, he wanted to retire and lead a leisurely life with his family. So, he goes to the contractor and tells him about his plan of retiring. The contractor feels sad at the prospect of losing a good worker but agrees to the plan because the carpenter had indeed become too fragile for the tough building work. But as a last request, he asks the old carpenter to construct just one last house.

The old man agrees and starts working but his heart was not in his work any more. He had lost the motivation towards work. So, he resorted to shoddy workmanship and constructed the house half-heartedly. After the house was built, the contractor handed over the front door keys to the carpenter and said, This is your new house. My gift to you. The carpenter was shocked and upset. Had he known that he was building his own house, he would have done a better job! Now, he would have to live in the house, which is not worth staying.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. You work hard every day but are you giving your best? We put our least to the work we don't like or do not have interest in. Later, we get shocked at the situation we have created for ourselves and try to figure out why we didn't do it differently.

Enjoy your tasks and carry on your responsibilities with pleasure and not with pain. Life is a do-it-yourself project. Do your job enthusiastically and with devotion, a positive output and a pleasing life will certainly be on your way.

8 Tips to Take Control of Your Weight

Anyone who is overweight will testify that losing weight is not as easy as it seems. The people that are lean, or have gone from fat to skinny will say it’s just a matter of motivation and elbow grease. Although it is not as simple as that. Our environments have waged war on us. Their weapons are sedentary lives and trans fats of mass destruction. All is not lost though, here are some quick simple tips to get ahead!

1. Substitute Water. Our bodies are about 65-70% water. It follows that water would be not only essential, but the best possibly choice of liquids to ingest. In fact, our bodies will sometimes simulate a hunger response, when in reality the body is craving hydration. When hungry, drink a glass or two of water to check if it suppresses your hunger.

2. Chew Your Food. Chewing our food very slowly and deliberately has several benefits that are often overlooked. It gives us the ability to relax, and enjoy our meal. Slow chewing is the first, and highly important, step in a complex system of digestion. Besides, if we eat slowly, we might feel full before finishing the whole meal, and can leave the rest for the next meal.

3. Exercise daily. Even a 30 minutes daily walk will reduce a lot.

4. Publicize your intentions. Start a blog, join a forum, and have other people keep you accountable to help. Tell other people your plan, it would help you get the motivation to go with it!

5. Create a food schedule. Plan your day so that youre eating at approximately the same time each day. This scheduling will incorporate itself into your circadian rhythm, and aid in digestion.

6. Do not over eat. Know your limit and stop eating when you are full. I have often been a victim of wanting to finish a meal so that it doesnt go to waste. This has left me with many a stomach ache. Next time, doggy bag it for later, and dont hurt yourself!

7. Choose your snacks wisely. Put down the Lays and cheese puffs. Pick up the apple and baby carrots. Make the right decision, I know you can do it.

8. Lifestyle. Remember, it not about special diets, or special exercise programs. The real secret is in turning your health into a lifestyle, and focusing on this healthy lifestyle with every choice you make.

Turn negative in to Positive

Every positive thing in your life represents a single unique blessing.

Every negative thing in your life has the opportunity to become
a double blessing.

For when you turn a negative into a positive, you gain twice.

You are no longer burdened with the negative situation, and
in addition to that you are strengthened by a new positive force.

Heal a strained relationship and not only do you lose an enemy,
you also gain a friend.

Turn a weakness into a strength, and not only are you no longer held back by the weakness,you are pushed forward by the strength.

Every negative situation carries its own energy.When you turn that energy around, the effort involved brings a double reward.

The weaknesses, liabilities, nuisances and troubles are no cause for despair. They are assets, conveniences,

joys and riches waiting to be manifested through your efforts.

Don't seek to merely get rid of the negative things in your life.

Instead, transform their energy into something of real positive value.