Change your thoughts and you change your world

It’s not the lack of building supplies, the current restrictions, or a downturn in the market that has the greatest effect on your levels of happiness and success – it’s your thoughts.

It’s your thoughts and reactions to what is happening around you that determines your outcomes.

Your thoughts affect your decisions, your actions and the way you communicate to others. In effect, they change your world, for better or worse.

The number of studies completed on the power of our brains, how little of them we use and the enormous effect they have on our experiences are now well into the thousands.

Examples such as the placebo effect prove that what we believe to be true will in fact eventuate in our lives. The Reticular Activating System (RAS) in our brain assists in this by filtering everything that is going on around us and only letting the relevant information get through. It shows us the information that relates to our current thoughts and beliefs. This repetition of information then confirms to us that our thoughts and beliefs are indeed true. It’s the reason why when we decide to buy a new car, we suddenly start seeing it everywhere. It’s the reason we can tune out a crowd then suddenly snap to attention when we hear our name. It’s also the reason that if you think Business is hard at the moment, then it most likely is. So, your mindset, and the mindset of each of your team members, plays a vital role in both your levels of happiness and in the success of your Business.

With this in mind – is it possible to use our thoughts to change our level of success? 100% yes.

In the same way that negative thoughts will create negative outcomes in your day, positive thoughts will create positive outcomes in your day.

Your brain is designed to work at it’s best when it’s positive. Your intelligence, your ability to problem solve, your creativity and ability to brainstorm new ideas, your memory, and your productivity are all significantly enhanced when you’re feeling positive and happy, and significantly reduced when you are

When you are positive, you see opportunities instead of obstacles.

– Confucius

feeling worried or stressed. In other words, we make the best decisions, do our best work, have the best outcomes and are therefore most successful when we’re feeling good most of the time.

So how do we feel good and think positively when there is negativity, stress and struggle going on around us?

The first step is to take notice of what thoughts are going around and around in your head. Are they mostly positive or mostly negative? Is your mind filled with thoughts like ‘I’m too busy’, ‘there’s a shortage’, ‘I can’t rely on anyone else’, ‘I need a coffee to get going’ or ‘business is hard’? Think about how these thoughts are playing out in your life. To change things for the better, you need to have clear intentions of what you actually want. Less stress? More time with your favourite people? Better jobs? Easier days? More time doing what you love?

Turn your intentions into a positive list and think about them often. Even better – write them down. There is magic in actually writing down what you want – it programs your RAS to identify and recognize the resources, people and support you will need to help you achieve it.

Ideally, pick three or four items from your list and use them often. For example, ‘everything goes right for me’, ‘I have everything I need today’, ‘we get the best jobs’, ‘I’m on a winning streak’, ‘I get to spend lots of time with my favourite people’, ‘my days are easy’, ‘I love what I do’, ‘I feel good’. A short, simple list works best. Save it as your background or wallpaper on your device, print it out and put it somewhere you will see it often. Then keep looking at it. Keep thinking about it. Keep talking about what you do want, rather than what you don’t want. Keep your mind focussed on the positive things as much and as often as you can.

Think, talk and act in the positive. Not always easy I know, but the more you practice it, the better your results will be.

Rachelle Hawes is the Director of Your Happy Place Limited. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in improving Mindset, Happiness and Success to their flagship Mindset Programme, the 30-Day Positive Mindset Challenge. She is also a Social Entrepreneur dedicated to Sharing Kindness, Touching Hearts and Changing Lives. www.positivemindsetchallenge.com