Two Toxic Thoughts Many People Think Every Day
Many of us think that we don’t have a morning ritual or that we don’t have time for one, but be assured — you do.
In fact, your morning ritual is so ingrained that you probably don’t even realize it’s there. Every day, many of us wake up and tell ourselves: “I didn’t get enough sleep” or “I don’t have enough time.” Or both. Lynne Twist, author of The Soul of Money, says that these thoughts set ourselves up for a scarcity mindset that carries on throughout the day, and we’re establishing it before we even get out of bed in the morning:
“For me, and for many of us, our first waking thought of the day is ‘I didn’t get enough sleep’. The next one is ‘I don’t have enough time’. Whether true or not, that thought of not enough occurs to us automatically before we even think to question or examine it. We spend most of the hours and the days of our lives hearing, explaining, complaining, or worrying about what we don’t have enough of. Before we even sit up in bed, before our feet touch the floor, we’re already inadequate, already behind, already losing, already lacking something… [so] what begins as a simple expression of a hurried life, or even the challenged life, grows into the great justification for an unfulfilled life.”
Are you practicing this ritual every morning without even realizing it?
Consider This
When your brain is focused on scarcity, you are basically training yourself to feel that you don’t have enough and to seek out proof that you need more of everything. By focusing on what you wish were different in your life, you inadvertently reject everything that you already have.
This way of thinking only leads to more and more of the same types of thoughts, which leads to you always feeling that all you have are problems, that nothing ever works out for you, and that other people can have it all, but you are not capable or even allowed. When you consider the near 60,000 thoughts we have per day, that’s a lot of negativity.
Turning Your Focus to Gratitude
What if, when you woke up in the morning, the first thought that crossed your mind was “I am grateful to be here now” or “What can I create today?” Or “I love you, you are beautiful, you have the power to manifest and create anything you desire”. Right away, that puts your brain into a mode of abundance and gratitude. It focuses your brain on the positive things in your life rather than the negative. Both might be present, but you can choose which to put weight on.
And this doesn’t mean pretending that everything is perfect. Having gratitude doesn’t mean lying to yourself about how everything in your life is amazing, it’s simply about acknowledging how much you really do have. Do you have… a roof over your head? A bed to sleep in? Food to eat? Friends and family to talk to? That is more than a lot of people have. Gratitude is all about counting your blessings, and guess what? By doing this you are attracting even more blessings into your life.
For example, say “I got enough sleep” and “I have enough time” — just acknowledging these two things in the morning set your brain up for feeling abundant rather than lacking. If you wake up and think: “What a great sleep! I feel rested and ready to begin the day. I have enough time to accomplish everything I need”, your day begins with a mind that is then seeking out what else you have enough of:
“I have enough patience.”
“I have enough creativity.”
“I have enough time to eat a wholesome breakfast.”
“I have enough clothes to wear.”
“I have enough running water to have a shower.”
Once you get your brain on the track of having enough, rather than lacking, you will continue to have these types of thoughts, and naturally, by default, will start feeling grateful for everything that you have rather than upset for everything you don’t. It may be a bit of a trick, but it leaves you feeling happy and abundant.
Our Thoughts Create Our Reality
EVERYTHING IS PERSPECTIVE. Every day we have a choice. We can choose to live from a state of fear and lack, or we can choose to live from a place of love and abundance.
Think about it this way: Every time you have a thought about yourself, you are programming that into your reality and making it more likely that you will think it again, which means it will become your believed truth, and then it will manifest. If you are constantly thinking that you are incapable, or lacking skills or talent, then perhaps it is actually those beliefs that are holding you back.
Creating a more positive outlook and having a little faith in yourself will lead you to better outcomes. Really, it’s just like the story of the Little Engine That Could. You HAVE to believe in yourself. If you don’t, how will you achieve what you desire? The mind may be the biggest contributing factor here, and realizing that can transform your entire reality.
Start With Your Morning Ritual
When you wake up tomorrow, observe the thoughts that come to mind. If you remember this article, perhaps you will already have thought something about having enough, and if you did, watch what unfolds for the rest of your day. It is truly amazing to witness what this simple transformation in perspective can provide for you, but you won’t know or maybe even believe it until you act! The power of thought and intention is very real, so the question is whether we will use these to benefit our lives, or to keep us stuck. The choice is yours: Will you choose fear or will you choose love, abundance and bliss?
yogaesoteric
February 23, 2019