“Your thoughts connect to emotions, which become your beliefs. Your beliefs transform into words, which manifest into actions, which become realities in your life.
Please be mindful of your thoughts.”
Please be mindful of your thoughts.”
—Nancy Salmeron
We become what we believe. Your beliefs are constructing the world that exists for you. Look around you. How much do you love your world? Your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs have a lot to do with the life you have. Your beliefs have the power to construct a world of love, faith, compassion, and joy. But your beliefs can also bring fear, hate, and unhappiness into your life.
A belief is defined as the acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists. A belief starts with a thought, which gets attached to an emotion, which connects to the subconscious mind and transforms into a belief. Some beliefs were given to us by our parents, friends, or teachers. Other beliefs we constructed on our own. Buddha once said that as we think, so we become.
“Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become habits. Watch your habits for they become character. Watch your character for it becomes your destiny.” —Buddha.
I have a question for you. Why are we our own worst enemy when it comes to our thoughts, emotions, and beliefs? We are often cruel with the things we tell ourselves. Some examples are:
“Who do you think you are?”
“People like you can’t fulfill dreams. Get off that cloud!”
“You will never be happy. Why do you even try?”
You probably have some of these beliefs lingering within yourself. I would even bet you have some thoughts and beliefs you would be embarrassed to say out loud. Today, I am going to share some steps with you to help you eliminate limiting thoughts, so they won’t become beliefs.
Step One: Put the light on your negative thought by writing it down.
Find the right time to identify what you are thinking. You may need to write it down. For example, one thought may be that you will fail at accomplishing a goal. Write it down. For example, “Why are going to the gym? You are always going to be fat.” Look at it, entertain it, and acknowledge that it’s there. And then set it aside.
Step Two: Take time to fully acknowledge your negative thought, then make the thought sound ridiculous.
Look at the thought, “Why are you going to the gym? You are always going to be fat.” Ask yourself if this is true. Are you truly fat? Have you gained weight by going to the gym? Where is the proof that you are fat? Ask yourself if you have given yourself enough time to see a change. Look at how this thought is ridiculous. Do people get fat by going to the gym? Does exercising make you gain weight? Is this thought practical or real?
Step Three: Throw that thought in the trash.
Trash that negative thought and then feel what it is like to not have it lingering in your mind. Ignore it. It is time to take your attention away from this negative thought. How does eliminating this thought from your mind make you feel? Use the gym example one more time. Without this thought, would you feel more motivated to go to the gym? Once you decide to no longer engage with the negative thought, you may realize a sense of freedom. Negative thoughts bring fear and negativity to your existence, and ninety-nine percent of the time these pesky thoughts only exist in your head. They are not real. Please understand that your thoughts are simply thoughts, and you have the power to change them.
Step Four: Who would you be? What would you accomplish without that thought?
As you let negative thoughts linger, they get attached to emotions, and then those thoughts become beliefs. In step four, you realize how those thoughts limit you. Know it’s time to feel and see who you can become without limiting thoughts. If you did not think that going to the gym was a waste of time, wouldn’t you be more inspired to go to the gym? You would become healthier and maybe even slender. How does it make you feel to think that the gym will help you lose weight? When you let go of negative thinking and take away its power, you will develop a belief system that says everything is possible. When you seek within and truly ask who or what you would be or do if you had more empowering thoughts in your mind, you would become limitless. You would accomplish everything you desired.
Negative thoughts affect your mood, influence your behavior, and eventually become limiting beliefs. To become a pro at trashing negative thoughts, first, you must look within to see what you are thinking. Then, make that thought sound ridiculous. Make it an exaggeration and dunk it into the trash. Ask yourself who you would be or become without this thought. Your final realization should be that you need to be mindful of what you think, because what you think gets tangled with negative emotions, which ultimately become engrained, limiting beliefs. Your thoughts connect to emotions, which become your beliefs. Your beliefs transform into words, which manifest into actions, which become realities in your life. Please be mindful of your thoughts. As Oprah Winfrey so appropriately puts it, “You don’t become what you want. You become what you believe.” Until next time, Believe. Change. Become.