Summary -- I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in a room at an NLP seminar with 60 other people. The noise permeated the room – I mean it was everywhere. There was music, people cheering, and applause. It was pretty much a party. Amidst the cheers and chants, brave souls in the group were stepping up to the wooden boards and breaking them one by one. Cheers and applause greeted each success. As I watched them, I suddenly had the feeling that it was my turn. I took my board and went to the center of the room. I put it on the stand and got ready to break it. The noise seemed to crescendo. I got into position and attempted to break the board. Boom! The board didn’t break! But I felt as though my hand had. I stepped back for a moment and went inside of myself. I connected with my source and all of the noise in the room disappeared. I got back into position and I closed my eyes. I summoned the strength in me, and the energy of the universe to break that board. When I opened my eyes, the board was broken.

At that moment, I knew there were absolutely no obstacles I could not conquer using my inner strength, energy from God, and love from the universe. You might ask, what would be the difference between the first time and the second time? I’m going to tell you – the difference was the power in my mind. You see, the first time, I was focused externally on all the things going on around me. To be honest, I was even focused on “what if the board didn’t break.” I was listening to the chaos and all the confusion and self-doubt, and I allowed all of that to clutter my mind. Once I removed all of the clutter and channeled the energy positively, the board broke. One lesson from this is to learn how to focus on what it is you actually want – not on what you don’t want.

Many of us go through our days spending hours at a time contemplating things that will never happen. We actually focus on negative things – negative consequences. If many of us had the opportunity to write a what-if book for ourselves, we might have several chapters. In other words, we block ourselves with “what if this” or “what if that” instead of focusing on what we really want. What is it that you really want to manifest? In order for it to manifest you have to truly believe it is possible. What you have to do is create a belief for your life that “anything is possible.” I didn’t say, “Anything is possible, but what if (you fill in the blank) happens.” I said anything is possible. Period. Instead of using the famous word “but,” you really should say, “Anything is possible and here’s what I’ll do.” Focus clearly on what you want, and make it happen.

Many people think the grass is greener on the other side. The truth in the matter is, if you water and tend to your own grass, it will be just as green (if not greener). Sometimes watering your grass comes in the form of gratitude or positive thoughts. Every 60 seconds, you have the opportunity to choose. You choose to be happy, don’t you? If you’re not choosing it, whose responsibility is it?

Action -- Catch yourself in negative thought forms, and transform them positively. Carry a small notebook for a month. Strike a mark in it for each negative thought you have during the course of the day. This will make you aware of negative thinking pitfalls. As you bring them to consciousness and make a concerted effort to change them, the number of marks in your notebook should decrease considerably. You will be harnessing the power of positive thinking, and reaping its benefits!

Dr. Cherry A. Collier
http://www.AttitudeMagic.com