Positively Speaking

So, it has been only one day into my no complaining rule, and I have already had a difficult day not complaining. I found myself all day stopping in mid sentence and saying, "oh, is that a complaint or is it fact". You have to understand, these are not big issues or important things that I complain about. No, they are very small, very undeserving things that catch me off guard and get me complaining. Since I am obviously still having issues, I thought that I might have more luck if I think about the opposite of complaining, which is positive thinking. I found an article about exactly what I was looking for in an article (click here for full article) written by Karen Wolf. Here are her tips for thinking Positively Permanently. Apparently, I am in good company in my quest to reduce my complaints. I think her words are very helpful. Hopefully tomorrow, with God's grace and help, I will do better!

Positive Thinking Tips for a Positive Attitude - Permanently

• First, focus on what you're thinking about. Remember what I said about being stuck because we never addressed the source? Our negative actions and words are coming from our negative thoughts. Our body, including the mouth, has no choice but to follow wherever our mind goes.

  It is possible to control our thoughts, regardless of what we've been led to believe. As soon as a negative thought comes into your mind, purposefully make it a point to replace it with a positive one. (2 Corinthians 10:5) At first, this may take some work, because chances are, we will probably have a lot more negative thoughts in our head than positive ones. But eventually, the ratio will reverse itself.

• Second, stop letting other people's negative attitudes influence yours. This may mean we need to stop hanging around with people who do nothing but spout negative stuff. We can't afford to do this when our goal is to become more positive. The negative people in our life aren't going to like it when we stop participating in negativity. Just remember that birds of a feather really do flock together.
  

• Third, make a list of all the areas in your life that you want to change. List all your negative attitudes too. If you can't think of things to put on your list, just ask your family. I'll bet they'll help you make it a really long list!
  
  
• Fourth, take some time to write strong, life-giving, positive affirmation statements. Make a commitment to read those statements out loud every day. Enjoy how great they make you feel. Know in your heart that you're making progress, even if you can't see it just yet. Just keep affirming the positive.
  
  
• Lastly, take time to pray about this. You can't change by yourself. But you can spend time with the One who is able to help. Do what you can, and let God do the rest. It really is that simple.

This process will change how we think and that's the real key to changing how we act. Remember, the body will follow wherever the mind goes. There is no way to separate the two, so we might as well "program in" what we want, instead of randomly leaving it to chance.