Conscious Growth.com

July 29th, 2007

Negative thinking sucks. It makes you and everybody around you unhappy. And without the right tools, it is a tough habit to break. Why? Because negative thinking is conditioned in you. It just naturally comes up. I’m sure if you’re reading this, you’ve already tried different techniques to squash it. But most likely with little success. Fortunately, this approach is permanent. All it requires is 30 days of your time and the strength of your fore-finger.

As you apply this approach, you may naturally distance yourself from old friends and situations. This is normal. Right now, you have attracted negative things into your life (since like attracts like). When you transition out of negativity, those people will either become positive around you or gradually grow away from you. Both will happen. So expect it. Anyway, here is a fun approach to a happy, peaceful existence! Try it out. Even if you think it won’t work for you. It’s only for 30 days! And the results will speak for themselves.

The Rules

Rule 1: Literally Count your Blessings
Rule 2: Log the Results of Each Day for 30 Days

The Back Story

This is an idea I came up with in college to see how it would affect my moods and interactions with others. At the time, I was an extremely negative person. And I wanted out. So I decided to literally count my blessings. I went to a local Wal-Mart and bought a tally counter from the golf-section. It was a simple click counter that I could reset at the end of each day.

Every day for one month, I would consciously look around to see all the things I was grateful for. This was just an experiment so I didn’t let anyone know what I was doing. When people asked, I’d smile and make up something silly. The rule was to give one click for each blessing recognized. I could count anything from specific details to general truths. At the end of each day, I’d log the numbers.

The first day, I clicked in the low 200s. I was positively surprised by that number. And I started to smile a little. The second day I clicked around 400. I was more appreciativee of people and events. And started noticing that my life situation was actually OK. The third day was mid 600s. The day seemed even more positive and full of energy and enjoyment. And this trend progressed until the days averaged in the low to mid 1000’s.

The end result was transformative. I found myself effortlessly being of good will and smiles. Even when negativity creeped in, my response was instant laughter. I had to. I looked at my tally scores and couldn’t fathom the silliness of being “upset” and “whiny” about one little detail. So I laughed and smiled a genuine smile! With this technique, I also began to attract quality people and opportunities into my life. People began to “notice” something different about me. They couldn’t fathom how I could possibly be happy in such circumstances (my negative friends would say this). It didn’t make any sense to them. And I began to grow in every area of my life. Women, work, health, music, school, etc. all improved.

Tips When Applying

When applying this approach, just notice blessings and be grateful for them. Don’t force yourself to be “happy.” Happiness is an effortless state that happens when you continuously recognize the miracles all around you. This technique is just a simple tool to help you condition your mind. Right now, most people are conditioned to see all the problems. This creates a hell for them and traps them in it.

I chose 30 days for this exercise because habits are created in 21 days. So if you simply commit yourself to relax, recognize and count blessings, it will become your natural way of being in the world. So look all around you. Consciously acknowledge and be grateful for what you see. It’s easy to notice blessings when you start looking. Someone made your clothes, built your home, grew the food you eat, worked out the logic for the computer, your car, your microwave. Someone typed this blog entry! You’ve got limbs and a body. You’ve obviously got access to the internet.

Mental Understanding vs. Application

Most people already know they are blessed. But “knowing it” gets easily discarded. It’s important not to buy into the idea that you “know it” and can now move on. Instead, commit to 30 days of actually counting each blessing. By doing so, you make an internal shift to where you see reality as it truly is: which is a big pile of blessings and opportunities (not problems). The results will speak for themselves. Just try it. Even a little effort will raise your energy tremendously!

What About After Thirty Days…

I think you’ll be a new person after the 30 days and can let the clicker go. Out of habit, I still use a hand gesture and make a conscious effort to notice blessings. I consider it part of living consciously though. Also, studies show that a physical movement in conjunction with a mood tends to reinforce the mood with it. So these days, I’ve replaced the clicking with a simple tap between my ring finger and thumb. I find it to be less noisy and more appropriate for work or quiet situations. However, I do recommend that you start with the clicker for its obvious reasons.

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