| These two circles represent your state of mind. The mind on the left is filled with a lot of thought, clutter, anxiety, fear and stress and represents a low state of mind. The mind on the right represents a high state of mind and is characterized by clarity, focus, confidence, courage and optimism. As I wrote in The One Truth, the brain is an antenna, and you can tune into a negative frequency that lowers your state of mind or you can tune into positive, higher frequency that raises your state of mind. In this spirit, here are 7 Ways to tune into the positive and elevate your state of mind. Look Inside, Not Outside When you look outside and worry about what people think, focus on the outcome, feel the expectations and pressure from others and believe you are a victim of your circumstances, this lowers your state of mind. When you look inside and realize the truth, that you create your life from the inside out and that you have the power to transform your circumstances, this raises your state of mind. So don’t look outside at your circumstances. Look inside to your heart, mind, soul and the power you possess to create a better circumstance. I explain this in more detail in The One Truth. When You Experience Doubt, Choose Trust The answer to doubt is trust, and it’s only a thought away. When doubt comes in, choose to trust. Trust in yourself. Trust in the creator of the universe. Every addiction program believes in a higher power because it’s well known that you aren’t strong enough on your own. Your will isn’t powerful enough. But when you trust and connect with a higher power, you become more powerful than the forces and addictions that are sabotaging you. The seeds of doubt will always come in, but you don’t have to let them take root in the garden of your mind. Each day you can weed the negative doubts to feed and nourish your garden with trust. Speak Truth To The Lies Just because you have a thought doesn’t mean you have to believe it, especially when negative thoughts are lies that discourage and divide you. The key to winning the battle of your mind is to stop believing them and speak truth to them. The best advice I’ve ever heard is from Dr. James Gills, the only person on the planet to complete six double Ironman Triathlons. The last time he did it, he was 59 years old. When asked how he did it, he explained, “I’ve learned to talk to myself instead of listen to myself. If I listen to myself, I hear all the reasons why I can’t finish the race. I’m too tired, too old, and too sore. But if I talk to myself, I can feed myself with the words of encouragement that I need to keep on moving forward.” You can talk to yourself instead of listening to the lies that pop into your head. If you’re not sure what to say to yourself, here are few truths I know about you: You are here for a reason. There is a plan for your life. You were never meant to be average.
You have a desire to be great because deep down you know there is greatness within you.
Appreciate To Elevate When you appreciate, you elevate. You elevate your state of mind, you elevate your mood, you elevate your performance, and you elevate the people around you. Since you can’t be stressed and thankful at the same time, when you practice gratitude, you counter the stress that drains you. Instead of focusing on what you lack, you appreciate what you have. Instead of feeling small, you are thankful for it all. Instead of a scarcity mindset where you don’t feel like you are enough or don’t have enough, you develop an abundance mindset. I’m convinced abundance flows into your life when gratitude flows out of your heart. Where stress and entitlement cut off the flow of positivity energy into your life, gratitude for things big and small connects you to it all. Taking a thank-you walk almost every day for the past 20 years, where I would walk and practice gratitude, had a huge impact on my state of mind and literally changed the course of my life. I would walk around my neighborhood, and by the time I got to my office, my mind was fertile and ready to take on the day and have great things happen. While you may not be able to walk each morning, I want to encourage you to implement a daily gratitude practice such as a gratitude journal or a thank-you drive while in your car or write a few thank-you texts to friends and team members each morning that will elevate you and your state of mind. Encourage Yourself It’s essential that you encourage yourself daily and prevent discouragement from happening. Discouragement makes you want to give up. Encouragement keeps you going. The word “encourage” means to “put courage into,” so when you encourage yourself, you are filling yourself with courage to take on the negativity and challenges in life that can cause discouragement. In our Positive Leadership Workshops, we teach a great way to do this. On the left side of a piece of paper, write down many of the negative thoughts you often have. Everyone is different and we all have different thought patterns. You don’t have to share them with anyone; just write them down for you. Then on the right side of the paper, write down the words of encouragement you will speak to yourself when the negative thoughts come in. Any time the negative thought appears, talk to yourself and encourage yourself. This will give you courage and power and will elevate your state of mind. My wife discovered that when negative thoughts bombarded her, she would literally say “Stop”, and then start speaking positive words to herself. You can too! Choose Love, Not Fear Love is the ultimate way to live with a high state of mind. Love is more powerful than fear. Love casts out fear. Love is inside out. Fear is outside in. Love radiates from us. Fear tries to invade us. We create and live from the love inside of us to overcome the fear that tries to sabotage us. When you focus on love, fear dissipates. So, instead of worrying about the outcome, love the process. Instead of fearing what people think, focus on loving what you do. Instead of fearing making a mistake, love the moment and opportunity you have. Instead of living in fear, choose to live with love. You will be stronger and more powerful as you take on your daily struggles and the challenges in the world. Remember You Are ONE Not Separate The One Truth is that everything in life is influenced by oneness and separateness. For example, a team that is divided is disconnected and powerless. A team that is united is connected and powerful. The same applies to you. When you feel a sense of oneness, connection and unity, you feel strong. When you feel separate from yourself, from others and spiritually you feel disconnected, negative and weak. It’s why all mental health disorders report feelings of being isolated, disconnected, alone and separate. It’s why the root for the Greek word of “anxious” means to separate and divide. You will be more negative the more separate you feel. The more connected you feel the more positive you will be. My hope is that you will keep reminding yourself that you are ONE. The One Truth explains this in a profound, but practical way. |
