| The
year is 2004, and we move forward toward a new beginning with
the anticipation of spring, longer days and warmer temperatures.
We have weathered many emotional and spiritual storms this
past year and emerged stronger, with more resolve to take
charge of our lives, recognizing its preciousness.
I
began to pay attention to my own thoughts and realized that
I was in need of a mental tune-up. Something seemed to be
missing. I had begun to let fear slip inside. How did it happen?
Fear is an insidious culprit that keeps us rooted to mediocrity
and the status quo although our cells may be screaming that
it's time to make the necessary changes to improve our situation.
What
is a strong line of defense to tackle the negative conditioning
of the mind? I remembered that optimism could counteract those
uninvited guests, the negative programs that played over and
over in my head.
So
how do we cultivate optimism? A new gardener like me is aware
of what needs to go into the soil to produce beautiful, healthy,
vibrant flowers. The correct mulch, attention and vigilance
are necessary to make certain that the flowers get enough
sunlight, minerals and water. As simplistic as it sounds,
we need to make sure that what goes into our minds and what
we focus our attention on is monitored in much the same way
as our home gardens.
The
garden of your mind responds to constancy and repetition.
Make a mental note of what you are feeding it consistently.
If you flood your mind with fears and doubts, thoughts of
lack, anger or a host of negatives that is what your mind
garden will produce. Over time, it will simply spew out what's
been put into it. The exciting news is that we can change
our mind programs whenever we choose by consciously deciding
to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
I
began to do this. I would wake up or go to sleep by reading
something personally uplifting. A friend of mine nurtures
her mind with her own positive statements or affirmations
that she writes daily in her journal. I also made note of
what television programs I watched and books and newspapers
I read and decided to make some changes. Not to completely
rid myself of pertinent news or the movies I enjoyed but to
make sure that those with an optimistic outlook got equal
if not more of my weekly attention. I also remembered that
when a doubt slipped in, I would quickly create a positive
thought right behind it. To me it was like training a tight
muscle. Over time, my mind became more accustomed to elicit
positive thoughts because I had stretched it to comfortably
receive them.
Train
your own mind to be receptive to expect positive outcomes
and your personal best. You will be amazed that your efforts
will yield a fertile garden of optimism.
Reprinted from South Jersey Magazine, 2004
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