You Are The Change

Negativity can be a hard habit to break. Fighting circumstances is even harder. When it seems like everything is against your chances for success, it is difficult to find a positive solution. Your mind takes hold of these negative thoughts which then seem to manifest themselves into your reality. Everything is worthless. Everything is dark. Everything is wrong. I am ashamed. I am hopeless. I am wrong. All of us have fallen into this rabbit hole before.

While many people remember the clichéd Saturday Night Live character made famous by Senator Al Franken, Stuart Smalley, speaking positive affirmations to himself in his mirror as a funny parody, such actions done seriously can work to increase self-confidence and help you turn negative thoughts around to positive thoughts and actions.

Notice the mention of positive actions. No one ever turned anything around with just a thought. The thought simply sparks an emotional reaction, and then the response propels you forward toward solution or backwards toward no resolution. With the emergence of "new age" wisdom, and the popularity of such programs as "The Secret™" many people mistakenly believe that simple thoughts will cause the change they desire. This is just not true.

Your emotions drive your thoughts. Your thoughts drive your actions. It can be a real spiritual struggle to align your emotions and thoughts with your actions in a way that creates the positive change that you desire. Are you over worked and stressed out? How can you turn this around? Positive thoughts can reassure you that "at least you have a job", and allow you to be satisfied in the moment, but it cannot make you feel happy about your situation.

Analyzing why you are unhappy with your job and why you are suffering from stress and unhappiness is the first step. Is this what you desire? If not, determine what kind of emotional experience you want. Then craft steps toward a solution. This is a crucial second step. After you have created your plan for change, you must follow it. The positive emotions, thoughts and actions that you display will work to create the positive change that you seek and shift the energy.

This is the work many people do not want to do. It is much easier to think about doing something than to do it. It is much easier to sit back and fall victim to the circumstances. This is probably why so many people misunderstand all the life changing methods available, because the methods are unclear about how to work toward creating positive change.

Those gurus who want you to believe that change is easy, life is easy, that happiness is as easy as thinking about or visualizing what you want, will only delude you and your pocketbook. Only people who dig deeper will understand the real message. The message, that is missed, is that actions are needed to affect real change. In addition, the actions must align with the emotional experience and purpose and aim that you desire. Otherwise, you are not on top of the things in which you have full control; how you feel, think, and behave.

However, choice is necessary and work is required for moving your life from a survival state to thriving context. When you are taking positive actions that propel your life forward, you will know that it is working because it is at this point where you will realize that you are the change and the one in charge.