Our thoughts can make or break our entire existence and the power of positive thinking – and your gateway to success – truly begins in your mind. Can living a better life be as simple as thinking positively? In his new book, Unfu** Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life, author and self-development coach, Gary John Bishop, dives into how we can redirect our negativity and create new thought patterns that will promote positive thinking. Bishop emphasizes the belief that while we may not be able to control everything in our lives, we can control how we respond. In turn, we can foster a healthier mindset that will lead to greater success.
If you want to start practicing positive thinking, start with one of these powerful mantras that Bishop discusses in his book. These effective mantras will allow you to cultivate a chipper attitude and a winning outlook.
“I Am Wired To Win”
Everyone has parts of their life that they’re less than happy with. Bishop suggests looking at your perceived failures as victories! Bishop says that even though you may be unhappy with certain situations in your life, whether consciously or unconsciously, you’ve created a life that you’ve chosen. To some extent, you’ve achieved what you’ve wanted so you should be proud of that! If you’ve come this far and you’re getting what you’ve wanted, there’s hope that you can still get what you want in the future–by choosing differently.
“I Got This”
Starting the day off on the wrong foot can set off a turbulent string of events where everything gets out of hand. Bishop explains that this tends to happen when we let one negative thought influence the rest of our thoughts for the day. If you find yourself having one of those days, Bishop recommends getting some perspective. We all have “bad days” and there are probably people who are dealing with much more than you are. You’ve gotten through bigger ordeals and you’ll get through this too. Trust yourself – you’ve got this!
“I Am Relentless”
Think about this: If you’re trekking deep in the jungle, searching for civilization, you’ll spend the majority of your journey never knowing if you’re a mile away, or several hundred miles away. When you start to feel like this, Bishop recommends trusting yourself and carrying on, while having faith that the distance is getting shorter and shorter. When you’re working on a goal, you may not see immediate results. You have to persevere and trust that months or even years down the road, you will see an improvement! No successful person ever avoided disappointment, frustration or hardship. Their success wasn’t immediate–they kept going!
“I Embrace The Uncertainty”
Avoiding uncertainty is a natural way to protect ourselves from hurt, disappointment and stress. We check the weather before we leave the house, we Google potential love interests before heading out to a dinner date, we have a tough time delegating, and we ask our friends and family for advice regarding decisions that we will ultimately have to make. These are all little ways that we try to prevent uncertain outcomes and create the future we want. As much as we want to control everything around us – the weather forecast can be wrong and people are more than their social media profiles. Bishops suggests embracing unpredictability! Unpredictable events allow new, greater things to happen. Abandon the idea of what is “safe” and look towards the wild, unpredictable opportunities that will allow us to get out of comfortable ruts.
“I Expect Nothing And Accept Everything”
Painful disappointments usually begin with unmet expectations, says BIshop. Usually these expectations are unintentional. We don’t even realize that we had them until we’re let down. Remain positive by accepting what comes your way and removing expectations. Instead of wishing that your situation was different, accept it and make the most of it!
