How many times a day do you have negative thoughts about yourself? Count them all.  Like when you glance at yourself in the mirror and see something you don’t like or when you get aggravated at yourself for doing something stupid—like forgetting to bring your grocery list to the store.

I ask this question to my clients and get some scary numbers.  One woman told me that she had about 50 negative thoughts about herself each day.  50!  If you have 50 negative thoughts per day, this translates into 350 bad thoughts per week—and over 1400 per month.  How can you possibly stay positive about yourself when you’re feeding your brain all these horrible thoughts?

Changing the way you think is not easy—but it can be done.  Like changing any bad habit, it takes time, patience and a lot of work.  If you struggle with negative thoughts, I suggest you read the book The Secret by Rhonda Bynre. TheSecretLogo[1] While parts of the book are a bit cheesy—like the author not needing reading glasses anymore because she convinced her brain that her sight was perfect. I tried telling my 46 year old eyes that for a few weeks but I still can’t read the label on my conditioner in the shower. But the book is worth reading and I’m sure you will come away with some really good ways to become a more positive person. 

The following are some of my favorite messages in her book:

“You have the power to change anything, because you are the one who chooses your thoughts and you are the one who feels your feelings.”

“Your current reality or your current life is a result of the thoughts you’ve been thinking.  All of that will totally change as you begin to change your thoughts and your feelings.”

“If you think unkind thoughts about someone else, you will experience those unkind thoughts manifested.  You cannot harm another with your thoughts, you only harm YOU.”

Some women who think negatively about themselves are also extremely negative towards other people. My friend Christine calls them “Energy Drainers” because after spending time with the person, you feel like the life has been sucked out of you.  Energy Drainers are not happy when others succeed. If you know someone like this, just remember that their unhappiness is theirs—not yours.  You don’t need to own any of it.

cliff-norm1[1]Cliff Clavin, the famous postal worker from Cheers, was always negative.  It got so bad that he asked his doctor to adhere electrical probes to his body that would give him a shock every time he said something negative.  Take a few extra minutes and watch this hilarious piece about the extremes Cliff took to try to stop his negativity!   I hope you don’t need to take such drastic measures!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZag1zlecGI

Think Happy Thoughts,

Molly