What lies behind us and what lies in front of us is incomparably less important than what lies inside us - for a person is what he thinks about all day long.
Ralph Emerson
The fountain of grace must flow within ourselves—in our hearts and minds. Anyone who knows human nature so poorly that in search of happiness he changes everything except his own position will waste his life and increase the sorrow from which he was trying to get rid of
Samuel Johnson
The hardest thing is to start.
And it doesn’t matter what these words refer to - writing a book or the beginning of a new round in life, it is important that now I have taken the first step by writing the first lines, and by reading the book you will take the first step towards well-being.
If I interrupt my story, you will not know what I was going to talk about, but if you are a seeker, sooner or later you will receive answers to your questions from other sources.
Well, what if you stop on the way from theory to practice? You still have to write the script of your own life.
Only if you stop, it will not be much different from your real life.
It is in your hands today to adopt the techniques described in the book and which will allow you to build the storyline of your destiny so that the achievement of happiness is conditioned by the logic of its development.
Your destiny is your way of thinking and the world of your fantasies.
A person's social status, his environment and financial situation are an accurate reflection of his thinking.
What you should be - poor or rich, happy or unhappy, successful or not - only you decide.
Unlimited strength, fortitude will allow you to get everything you want from life.
Anyone can learn to use this power.
To do this, there are simple and very specific techniques for influencing your subconscious. Use them in your daily life and you will get everything you dreamed of and even more.
The power hidden in your subconscious is unique.
When you learn to communicate with your own subconscious, its wisdom will lead you on the right path.
You will be visited by ideas, the implementation of which will allow you to make a revolution or, if you want, a qualitative leap in your life and enter the path of prosperity and success.
To do this, it is very important not just to know about the existence of inner strength, but to realize it. If you really want to become a rich, happy and successful person, start working on yourself so that prosperity becomes your natural inner state.
It is precisely this kind of work on oneself that the practical part of this book is devoted to. The training is based on a simple motto at first glance:
“Change the way you think and you change your destiny.” Changing consciousness is a fairly long process that will require enormous faith, patience and perseverance from you before concrete positive results appear. But this is perhaps the only sure path to success known to people today.
The entire world around us is subject to certain laws of the universe, and we, an integral part of this world, cannot be an exception.
As you work on the program, you will become aware of these laws and understand that your subconscious always maintains contact with the endless source of life and immense wisdom.
Happy is he who trusts his subconscious, its divine nature, for those who follow it will fill their lives with peace, joy and prosperity. The subconscious takes care of us 24 hours a day, and it is in our power to order a ball. As soon as you give an idea to your subconscious mind, it starts working for you.
And it will not distinguish how good or bad your idea is, its task is implementation. Here it makes sense to note that the subconscious mind does not discriminate, does not reflect or think about any specific things, this is the sphere of activity of the conscious mind. The subconscious and consciousness are two spheres of activity within one mind. As soon as your mind accepts an idea, the subconscious begins its work.
Jokes with the subconscious are not appropriate. Always remember that the subconscious mind nurtures any seed you plant.
The effectiveness of the subconscious is increased many times through suggestion or self-hypnosis.
It is this method that is included in any of the programs aimed at prosperity and success. We have all suffered greatly from unreasonable indoctrination since childhood.
Phrases: “You are not capable of anything,” “Wealth is for the chosen few,” “Don’t expect much from life,” and others, uttered first by parents, then by friends and work colleagues, did their job.
Fortunately, you have the power to resist destructive ideas. And the choice was always yours. Perhaps you just haven't thought about it.
All disappointments and troubles in life come from unfulfilled desires.
With the help of the proposed program, you will sow the seeds of success in your consciousness, and the subconscious mind will take care of their growth. You will learn to monitor your thoughts and understand that by repeating all the time: “I can’t afford to buy such an expensive thing,” you really won’t get it, since the power of your subconscious will definitely take care of it. Forget the word “I can’t”, replace it with “I can” and, no matter how amazing your desire is, entrust the solution to the problem to the subconscious, let it take care of a positive result.
You can start today by realizing that the best time to work with the subconscious is the hour when you fall asleep and wake up. In a drowsy state, mental activity is reduced to a minimum, consciousness fades into the background, but for the subconscious a period of activity begins.
Remember this blessed time, the time for solving any life problems, since the subconscious knows the answers to all your questions. Having cast aside all doubts, unshakably believing that the answer exists now and not in the future, scroll through any of your problems every evening and morning.
For example, if you have money difficulties, you can address your subconscious as follows: “I need to get a certain amount of money to solve a certain problem (name the desired amount and the existing problem). Knowing about your deepest wisdom, that you know the answers to all my questions, I trust you, my subconscious, with the solution to my pressing problem, I believe that it will be resolved in the near future, and I am eternally grateful for that.”
The answer does not always come immediately, but it will certainly come in the form of an irresistible premonition, sensation, and even a clear awareness that you know what to do in this particular case.
Follow your intuition. Always go to sleep with faith in tomorrow, believe that you were born for success, and eventually you will be able to implant this idea in your subconscious.
I really like Joseph Murphy's installation, repeat it before going to bed and immediately upon waking, it will help you overcome difficulties and fulfill your intentions. “The vast intelligence that inspired, guides and guides me reveals to me an impeccable plan for the fulfillment of my desires. I am fully aware of the deep wisdom of my subconscious mind's response, and what I feel and ask in my thoughts receives its form in the material world. I am calm, balanced and in complete control of myself."
When you start your journey, you won’t be able to afford much; this will be your reality.
But under no circumstances should you allow the thought “I can’t.” Tell yourself: “I receive this,” “I am worthy of this,” “I accept this,” “I am grateful for this.”
Time will pass, and you will see how your capabilities expand, how what you received today on a mental level begins to come true. “I can do anything with the power of my subconscious.” Remember this phrase.
Believe in good fortune and divine guidance. Watch your every word and every thought. Apart from your negative thoughts, there are no obstacles on the path to happiness. Only you are responsible for the consequences of your thoughts.
Every conscious act of yours is the realization of your desire, your thought. Words are symbols. They are instruments of thought. A word can mean not only a concept or sensation, but also a whole complex of ideas. “I can” creates an incentive, “I can’t” - destroys any good undertaking.
Live easy! It is completely wrong that you can only get rich by the sweat of your brow. Try to do what brings you joy. It is in this work that your abilities will be most fully revealed and will lead to success. Going your own way is not the destiny of the chosen few, but the right of everyone. And the attitude “you shouldn’t expect much from life” is fundamentally wrong.
It’s just that at some point in time you lost the ability to freely follow your dreams. Believe in yourself. You are able to live in anticipation of the best, in faith in the fulfillment of desires. You just have to clearly realize that you are worthy of happiness.
If you don't believe that you are worthy and capable of getting everything you need, then who will believe you? By laughing at your dream, you show distrust of life, and its mighty flow leaves you on the sidelines. If you do not allow into your consciousness that wealth is limitless, rest assured that it will not fall into your hands.
Before your dreams become the same reality as day and night, winter and summer, heat and cold and much more that is not in doubt, you need to work on your consciousness. You need to convince your subconscious that you deserve large sums of money, that prosperity is your natural state. The idea of abundance should be key for you.
When working on your consciousness, the feeling of wealth will be stronger, the deeper the idea of well-being becomes.
Well, what if nothing happens? There will be only one reason: you did not wholeheartedly accept the idea that you were born for wealth and prosperity, and you cannot deceive the subconscious with empty words.
Faith plays a colossal role in life and in working on oneself. Having moved from theory to practice, working daily on your consciousness, repeating formulas for success and well-being, where the key is the attitude: “My financial condition is improving every day,” do not rack your brains over how this will happen.
Trust your life. Over time, looking back, you will see results that you may not have immediately realized, since the shoots of your work were just gaining strength and were not yet clearly visible. Do not be afraid of the future, trust it and rejoice in the fact that every new day increases your well-being and your importance to the world.
Don’t ask yourself another question: “Why is there still nothing?” Already there. It takes time. Only in complete peace, trust and faith in yourself will you allow your subconscious to work beneficially. Peace of mind is the key to success. Trust yourself, draw a happy life with your imagination, this will speed up the process.
Any negative thought (“I can’t do anything,” “I can’t pay the bills,” and other similar thoughts) will neutralize your positive statements.
Imagine: today you planted seeds and dug them up tomorrow, what kind of seedlings can you expect?
As soon as you feel a negative thought in your mind, replace it with D. Murphy’s attitude: “wealth”, “success” or “My wealth is constantly increasing” - and don’t worry about anything else. The solution to the problem will come on its own.
Often a person has no idea where to get money from. But the subconscious has no shortage of ideas. Once you change your thinking, these ideas will begin to flow into your life, bringing the “wealth” and “success” that you first simply cultivated with love, supported only by blind faith, by the power of which you won.
If your consciousness was formed in poverty and you have been haunted by failures all your life, it is especially difficult for you to believe that any person, having changed his consciousness, is able to achieve prosperity. So develop your ability to think positively until new thoughts, new habits, new actions become second nature.
You must be clearly aware that before you are allowed to achieve real success, your strength, that is, perseverance, will be tested repeatedly. And if you endure, you will win.
This is only difficult at the beginning, then, when daily work on yourself and your goals becomes your habit, you will experience the joy of an exciting feeling of control over your own life and gratitude for the opportunity to live, and not drag through life.
However, you are mistaken if you think that to achieve your goal, inspired dreams are enough, that life itself will take care of you and give you everything you want, without any effort on your part.
Yes, it all starts with a dream, yes, life will change as soon as you change your consciousness, because by changing your consciousness, you change your reality. But without a clear plan of action based on sound reasoning, without confidence that you are able to direct the events of your life in the right direction, you will not be able to achieve all your dreams.
There is another mistake - the attitude towards age. Many, citing age, refuse to change anything in their lives, believing that it is too late. Now imagine yourself in ten years as you are today, with all your problems, dissatisfaction, fears - and the way you can become if you now find the courage to begin realizing the goal that will lead you to your dream.
These ten years will pass anyway. Won't you take the opportunity to change everything? I know a woman who, at the age of forty, gave up her stable, measured, but unsatisfying life and decided to realize her old dream. She entered medical school, successfully completed it, and today she is happy because she has found a way to express herself in this life and a way to really bring goodness and help to the people around her. This was very important to her. What if she hadn’t taken this step ten years ago?
Years would pass without changing anything in her life, leaving emptiness and bitterness of dissatisfaction in her soul.
But even at sixty it’s not too late to start your journey. If a goal is desirable, if it is truly yours, you should find a sense of joy in the process of achieving it. And even if God decrees that you will not have time to rise to the top, still these years will be much more meaningful and eventful than miserable vegetation behind the locked gates to life, on which you yourself hung the sign “No entry. It’s too late for you.”
Change the sign and the gate will open. I don’t know how old you are, but instill in yourself the idea that now life is just beginning. Always be aware of the powerful force hidden within you, the power of your subconscious and its ability to realize any of your dreams and help you.
There are a huge number of opportunities in your life for everything, and for making money in particular. Do not limit them in your consciousness, trust life, never tired of repeating: “I am in the flow of life. I trust life. And I thank you for that." In this world there is enough for everyone, not just a few. It’s not that they don’t give it to you, it’s you who don’t take it.
L. Hay asks: “What do you have in your hands when you mentally approach the ocean - the source of abundance? A mug, a jug, or maybe a bucket?” - and proves that any of these containers are an indicator of your limitations, offering a direct path from consciousness to abundance. Imagine , which directly connects you to the source of all blessings, and if you like to compare this source of abundance to the ocean, lay your pipeline straight into the inexhaustible depths.
ZY 🙂 Rely on the toad, but don’t make a mistake yourself!
In one of the television programs, singer Yulia Panova talked about the beneficial effects of Feng Shui on her financial condition. At the end of her interview, she said that in any case, we need to act. It’s not enough to put a toad with a coin and wait for money to flow to you like a river; you have to make efforts. She ended her speech with the phrase: “Hope for a toad, but don’t make a mistake yourself!” 🙂
Usually this question is asked by people for whom everything, if not very bad, is certainly not very good. For about 5 years I have been watching one guy who asks the same question year after year: what is an easy and quick way to succeed? Yeah, once and from pawn to queen. No, of course there are ways, for example, marrying the daughter of a corrupt official who stole millions - but we won’t talk about that.
I’ll say right away that I don’t consider poverty a vice and, unlike various “gurus,” I think it’s flawed to call poor people “ beggars". But at the same time, I consider the philosophy of life that leads to poverty and the inability to live in principle to be deeply flawed and vicious. To eradicate these wretched ideas from your head and help change your thinking - that is my task. Then everything depends on your own actions and decisions.
Compared to them, you are rich!
Many of those who have achieved success in life started from scratch. From the point of view of the arrogant "gurus" they were the real " beggars“, because they did not have a normal income and serious cash savings. The only thing they had was the desire to do what they liked without looking at anyone or listening to anyone.
Son of emigrants John Paul DeJoria was a poor man. To start his business, he took out a bank loan. He had no home and therefore lived in his car. And every day he went and sold his shampoo because he believed in it. Today, John Paul Mitchell Systems is a company with a turnover of $900 million a year.
He simply allowed himself to do what he liked.
Samuel Morse, despite the fact that he was born into a rich family, in his ordinary life he eked out a miserable existence, who almost died from malnutrition (a certain Stropher, who took painting lessons from him, literally saved his life by feeding him lunch and giving him 10 dollars). However, he did not give up and, having created an electromagnetic writing telegraph (“Morse apparatus”), he eventually received 400,000 francs from ten European countries. He bought a ranch and became involved in philanthropy.
Just because he allowed himself to do what he really wanted
JK Rowling, a 31-year-old single mother living on welfare, which was barely enough to afford cheap food and rent. She was depressed and periodically had thoughts of suicide. Her novel about Harry Potter, typed on an antediluvian typewriter, was rejected by publishers one after another, mockingly advising her to find a “normal job.” But she did not give up and continued to fight to get her book published. Today Joan is the world's first female writer to earn $1 billion from her work.
Simply because she did what she loved and believed in, without giving in to difficulties.
Slaves' daughter, black Sarah Walker, a 20-year-old poor widow with a daughter in her arms, who was paid a maximum of $1.5 a day. At the age of 25, she began to go bald; the available remedies did not help. But she did not give up and found a way out - with the help of her brothers, she invented her own remedy for baldness. She liked it so much that she started selling it. But what was it like for a black woman to peddle her product from door to door in a 19th century society steeped in racism and male chauvinism? Not only did she succeed, she founded her own network marketing company and became the first black female millionaire.
Simply because she allowed herself to be who she is and do what she wants.
Raymond Albert Kroc he was also a “rogue”. A dealer in paper cups and milk mixers who has not achieved material wealth by the age of 50. At one time he even worked for food and a roof over his head in one of the restaurants. But chance or providence confronted him with the McDonald brothers and their restaurant. Ray liked the idea of quick service so much that he bought from his brothers the right to open similar restaurants throughout the United States (now called franchisees). This eventually led to the creation of McDonald's Corporation. At the time of Raymond Kroc's death in 1984, his net worth was more than $500 million.
Simply because he was doing something that he liked and enjoyed.
Walt Disney Born into a large family of a carpenter. The family was so poor that they could not buy him a pencil and paper, although Disney really wanted to draw. Nevertheless, at the age of 7 he began selling his first comics, and at the age of 22, he and his brother founded The Walt Disney Company. Even the meanness of business partner Margaret Winkler, who fraudulently stole the copyrights to all the cartoon characters created at that time, did not stop Disney, and now his company is a world-famous multimedia empire.
Simply because he did what truly made him happy.
All in all, it's not about how much money you have now. What’s more important is what your dream, goal is, how large-scale it is, how promising and useful it is. What matters is whether you have a business to which you are ready to devote yourself wholeheartedly or whether you dream of becoming an “emelya” and ordering the stove to fulfill your desires. This is the mindset that helps you become successful.
Slave attitudes in the head
But some attitudes in the brain, received from parents, communication with those who got a “normal job” and reading stupid books, prevent you from starting to think like that. Let's fix it.
Stop thinking that someone owes you something. Do you think that the fact that you will sit and monotonously whine “The rich should help the poor, the government should make our lives better, God should help the unfortunate,” etc. will something change?! Do you want to live on handouts?! Or do you want to get what you really deserve? Then stop whining and complaining.
Stop saving on yourself. Unemployed homeless man Edison Miranda gave his last pesos to a boxing coach to learn techniques and techniques. He could have bought new clothes, a nice cell phone, or eaten delicious food, but he invested in himself. In yourself, and not in your clothes or food. Your problem is that you value yourself less than the things you buy. This unconscious position manifests itself very clearly throughout your life.
Stop chasing "quick money". Every day I receive dozens of letters in my spam with something like “money button”, “automatic earning program”, “excellent earnings on the Internet” and other bullshit. Who are they intended for? For those who are not ready to persistently and hardworkingly do something that they really enjoy, but want to quickly “make money” in order to pay for the false “pleasures of life.” You can succeed in this business... if you lie a lot and brazenly, but in such people both the brain and body are quickly destroyed due to the growth of neurotic zones (the famous liar and manipulator Dale Carnegie died of Hodgkin's disease).
Instructions
A person’s thinking influences the circumstances around him. If the associations formed in your head are negative, then everything around you is also negative. If someone is sure that the world is cruel, then it will be so, because everything is embodied. The “boomerang rule” is triggered, which states that everything that is broadcast into the world is returned to the person without distortion. Accordingly, if events are not going well now, it is because of the thoughts that existed earlier.
To change your life, start by transforming yourself. First you need to understand what is in the subconscious, what is reflected outside. Conscious thoughts are only 5% of all existing ones. And what's in that hidden part? To understand, you will have to perform several exercises. Start by dividing your life into areas, such as work, money, personal life, relationships with children, communication with parents, friendships, etc. Everyone has their own list, but it’s better to make a more detailed one.
Take one of the written areas and start writing down everything you think about it, all the thoughts that appear in your head. There is no need to evaluate them; they can be beautiful, evil, and even offensive. Just write down all the associations that come to your mind. For example, about work: “work doesn’t bring in income”, “I always work for others”, “work is literally slavery”, “I don’t like my job”, etc. You will have phrases that you often repeat, about which sometimes you think. They are the ones who are embodied around, they are the ones who work and shape reality. You need to do this for each area in order to understand what exactly is stored inside you.
When you have a list, study it carefully. Some phrases suit you, these thoughts are positive and useful. But there are also those that I want to fix. We need to work with them. Come up with their opposites. It’s better to take 5-6 statements at first, no more, but gradually you will work through everything. Replace these phrases with positive ones. For example, instead of “I don’t like my job,” write down “I enjoy going to work,” and instead of “I don’t earn much,” write “my earnings suit me, there’s enough money for everything.”
Combine the resulting statements into one phrase that is easy to remember. Write it down somewhere you can see it and read it every time you see it. These are affirmations that need to be repeated constantly to replace old attitudes in the head. Remember them every day and, when you have a moment, say them to yourself or out loud. You need to do this at least 3 times a day to get results. The new principles will begin to work in 40 days, and you will immediately notice how your life is changing.
In the article you will learn:
Greetings readers! I don't believe in magic (well, almost...). But I believe that everything in the world is interconnected. And if I call some event not a problem, but a situation, then in my life there really are no problems, but only situations that I solve. Today you will learn how to change your thinking to a positive one, make life happier and more enjoyable.
I realized that I was thinking negatively when, when I went to bed, I felt uneasy because nothing bad had happened during the day. And it interferes with life, you know! Just imagine! I was already in the mood for trouble in the morning. I was expecting them. And, naturally, they happened to me quite often.
What did positive thinking give me? And how will it help you? Looking back on your life BEFORE and AFTER, I see a huge difference:
- More situations are resolved effectively, because I’m less nervous and experience negative emotions less often.
- Past failures no longer bother me, a focus on the future has appeared, this has accelerated the development process.
- I began to notice how many good things were happening to me. I feel like I attract the positive like a magnet. (I used to pronounce positive statements quite often - affirmations, and then they joined the daily flow of my thoughts. I didn’t even notice how)
- From me whiners and dissatisfied people have fallen behind, but surrounded by cheerful people.
- I live in harmony with myself. I feel healthier and the symptoms that bother me have disappeared.
Accordingly, all these positive changes affected me as an individual. Smiling, good mood, humor, ease of solving situations, luck - these are the bonuses that fill me and accompany me through life.for any difficulties.
Who thinks positively?
It is impossible to form positive thinking if you are a deeply unhappy person. Therefore, you need to start by understanding your inner needs, desires and motives. This is what we call “understanding yourself.”
Accordingly, being aware of your desires, you will automatically form the right positive thoughts that will lead to the right actions. And those, in turn, will make you happy. Thus, positive thinking is born from an internal state.
If you feel that it is difficult for you to figure it out on your own, contact a specialist with a specific request: define goals, outline a path. Otherwise, follow my recommendation: to understand your true desires, start taking action.
Yes, leave the “sofa” search for yourself and start a conscious movement, get experience. Even with mistakes, no one can do without them. As you move, you will understand what you want and what you are capable of. This is important.
- You shouldn’t close your eyes when they advise you to ACT, because now many theorists have developed, but there is not enough practice. We need to upgrade this point! Forward.
And to speed up the process of transforming your thinking, I will share a couple of secrets.
Changing your thinking from negative to positive
I really like this method because it has a profound effect on ability thinkpositive. He opens up new knowledge and illuminates with discoveries. You will be able to find those weak points in yourself that hinder and hinder development.
So, the essence of the method in the right questions. And no need to make excuses now, like “too banal way.” You should actually try it first. When something happens to you and you habitually worry, get angry or panic, answer the following questions:
- Why did I need this situation? What good does she teach me?
- What is the cause and effect relationship? Which ones are there? solution options(there must be at least three).
- What am I I'm afraid? Model what will happen if your fear comes true and how you will feel then.
- What is the best option, taking into account all the previous answers?
I would like to emphasize that now it is important not to tailor the answers to the questions, but to record in writing everything that comes to your mind. Even the most surprising things, in your opinion. Don't resist, trust yourself completely.
I will give one of my examples. With the help of this technique, I realized that I often got irritated by little things and got angry. This made me feel more unhappy, but I didn’t understand why. I had to sit down, take time and reflect in writing. Initially, I thought that the problem was with work, but this was only a superficial reason. Therefore, we answer, gain experience and learnthinkotherwise!
21 days without...
This method is very popular in different countries, including Russia, but I have not tried it yet. Judging by the reviews, people change a lot. Therefore, I will be glad to see your comments and feedback!
The task is as follows: put a bracelet on your hand with the instruction to live for 21 days without criticism, whining, aggression, etc. Anything that has a negative meaning for you. However, every time you violate the setting: you catch yourself whining or aggression - change the bracelet to your other hand and start all over again.
People often ask why exactly 21 days. It is believed that this is the time needed to get rid of the habit. Rarely does anyone achieve continuous wear the first time. Mostly it takes up to 6 months, and on the first day you will be completely tired of changing clothes. The author of the method, for example, achieved the goal in three months.
The secret of the technique is that most often during the day you pay attention to your hands. And looking at the bracelet, you will inadvertently wonder “ Didn’t I complain today, didn’t I get angry?».
The bracelet needs a rubber one so that you can easily take it off and put it on, and also not be afraid of ruining it. It's better to choose a color violet, it is associated with freedom and independence.
In the first days you will feel surprised and confused, and the bracelet will constantly send signals to your brain that everything is fine, the world is beautiful. Your thoughts will begin to change gradually, but inevitably.
And finally
As they say, if a person wants to live, then medicine is powerless. So it is in our case.
- If a person wants to be happy, then nothing can stop him.
Always keep the main goal in mind.
Monitor unpleasant thoughts and emotions and, before becoming overly concerned, give yourself a break, take a break and let the whole world wait. To begin with, breathe evenly and moderately, think about something abstract, then remember what other options for reacting to this case may be and adopt the most acceptable one.
Allow yourself to become a different person, happy, calm, with a cheerful outlook on everything around you. Allow yourself this, just as you allow yourself to enjoy a delicious cake. After all, you deserve it!
With love, your June!
Even in the recent past, ordinary people had a distorted understanding of the nature and essence of mental disorders. Thus, depressive states were attributed to indicators of the subject’s weakness of spirit. Intense phobic fears were considered far-fetched and ridiculous. Tormenting panic attacks were attributed to the person’s feigned demonstrative actions. Manic states with their characteristic euphoria were attributed to unhealthy carelessness and excessive cheerfulness of the person. And mentally ill people with symptoms of schizophrenic disorders were generally treated as people whose souls had been possessed by the devil.
However, as knowledge about human physiology developed, the characteristics of higher nervous activity were studied, and information about the unique world of the individual’s psyche was acquired, scientists put forward more realistic hypotheses about the causes of disorders. Along with genetic and biological theories of the origin of mental pathologies, an honorable niche is occupied by the versions proposed by various psychotherapeutic schools. Among the most reliable, practice-tested theories are the concepts developed by the creators and followers of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
From the point of view of the creators of this school, the real cause of all psychological problems, complexes, neuroses, psychotic disorders is the erroneous stereotypical dysfunctional system of thinking that exists in the individual. Such a destructive and unproductive model of thinking is a set of thoughts, ideas, perceptions, beliefs that are not an objective reflection of reality. This dysfunctional thought pattern is also not a consequence or reflection of the individual's personal experiences. Such a system of thinking that negatively affects life is the result of an incorrect interpretation of the existing state of affairs, an incorrect interpretation of the events of the present. Such a model of judgment may be the result of some personal misconceptions, but most often such a stereotypical construct is formed due to the intense influence of some external factors that were incorrectly interpreted by a person.
Based on the above, all processes and products of human thinking can be divided into two broad groups:
According to the authors of the school of cognitive behavioral therapy, it is the presence of unproductive elements in the subject’s thinking that distorts the objective perception of reality and rewards a person with destructive emotions and feelings. Such dysfunctional thinking prevents the formation of a constructive life position, deprives a person of a flexible worldview and initiates illogical human behavior.
Accordingly, it is rigid and unconstructive thinking that leads to negative psycho-emotional and behavioral consequences. Irrational emotions go off scale in amplitude, and, reaching the strength of affect, they simply hang a veil over a person’s eyes and demonstrate reality in a distorted light. Such destructive thinking is the culprit of reckless actions, hasty actions, and unfair categorical verdicts. It is the distorted links in thinking that are the true cause of depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive thoughts and actions, eating behavior abnormalities, alcoholism and drug addiction, gaming and emotional addictions. Such non-adaptive components of thinking prevent the individual from fully functioning in society, do not allow the creation of a strong family and deprive a person of friendly relations. Destructive elements of thinking are the cause of low self-esteem and the existence of various inferiority complexes in individuals. They give rise to a sad mood and poor health, and are the culprit of painful thoughts and loneliness of a person.
How to change your thinking and improve your life? It is necessary to detect and identify these erroneous stereotypes, and subsequently eliminate them from the sphere of thinking, filling the “cleared space” with rational and realistic experiences. Having acquired useful ideas and constructive ideas, a person will take full control of the course of his thought process, thereby protecting himself from possible negative pressure in the future. By filling the mental space with functional feelings, a person will acquire a constructive worldview, which will allow him to behave adequately and harmlessly for himself in any life circumstances. As a result, a functional system of thinking will save a person from psycho-emotional problems, and a constructive line of behavior will ensure success in any endeavor.
CBT methods: relevance and authority
The techniques proposed by CBT supporters have gained wide popularity among doctors, psychologists and ordinary citizens. All techniques within the framework of cognitive behavioral therapy have been tested in clinical psychotherapeutic practice and are recognized in academic societies around the world. The success and demand for CBT techniques can be explained by a combination of various factors, among which I would like to highlight a number of particularly outstanding advantages.
The teaching of cognitive behavioral therapy names the obvious causes of various disorders of the psychotic and neurotic level in people from different segments of the population, without dividing citizens into any special categories. Proponents of CBT explain the causes of people's psychological problems in clear and simple language. To date, the introduction of cognitive behavioral therapy methods into clinical practice has helped tens of thousands of people around the globe. All techniques developed within this area are universal tools for solving various psychological problems and can be used in all abnormal conditions, excluding severe irreversible mental pathologies.
The concept of cognitive behavioral therapy is also distinguished by its humanistic attitude towards each person, which manifests itself in the unconditional acceptance of the individuality and characteristics of each person, and a positive attitude towards any representative of humanity. However, this method involves conducting impartial, healthy criticism regarding the subject’s negative experiences and negative actions. In simple terms, a person can be neither bad nor good, he is special with a unique personality, however, in his belief system there may be some destructive components that need to be identified and eliminated.
The benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy techniques also include:
How to change your thinking without wasting energy and time on expensive visits to psychotherapists? The only conditions for achieving results using the techniques described are:
How to change your thinking pattern: steps to eliminate erroneous stereotypes
It should be noted that the therapeutic process through these techniques also implies the inclusion in the program of components that are conducive to the transformation and development of the individual. Consultation with an experienced and certified doctor regarding the exact formulation of the existing problem and recommendations for treatment, careful study of educational literature on psychology, familiarity with authoritative sources of information on psychotherapy, regular contacts with wise and positive people will speed up the approach of a complete change in destructive thinking to a creative model.
It is worth remembering that the main enemy on the path to getting rid of problems is banal human laziness and the habit of letting everything take its course. That is why, in order to succeed in transforming thinking at the initial stage, it is necessary to make a certain amount of volitional effort in order to break the ingrained stereotypes about the “uselessness” of working on oneself.
How to change your thinking? Let's move on to the practical part of our article. The task of the first stage of working on yourself is to identify, track, analyze and understand your own thoughts.
Technique 1. Unbiased presentation of thoughts
This task assumes that we will each time write down on a piece of paper the thoughts that we have in the process of making a decision to perform this or that action. Our task is to record every thought as accurately as possible, write them down in the order of occurrence, not miss the slightest thesis, and not make our own assessments: “need” or “not necessary.” Such actions will clearly demonstrate what considerations prevail in us, what motives guide us before making a decision.
Technique 2. Exploring your own thoughts
To do this, we start a special notebook - a diary of thoughts. At least three times a day we retire and write down on paper all the thoughts and ideas that we have had over the past hours. We try to write them down without judging, we present them succinctly and concisely, we try to express ourselves as accurately as possible. We keep a diary of thoughts for one month. At the end of this period, we carefully re-read the written theses and conduct a thorough analysis. Our goal is to establish what thoughts with what content most often “live” in our heads, and how long we think about them. This action will help determine what specifically worries us the most and most often.
Technique 3. Form an objective point of view on your own thinking
The purpose of this exercise is to eliminate biases in our own judgments and develop an objective view of the thoughts that arise in our minds. The primary action is the following: we must recognize that “harmful” thoughts do not arise in us of our own free will and are not a product of our own thinking, but arise automatically. We need to realize that the judgments that prevail in the present were formed earlier in the past. Such stereotypical ideas are the result of some negative circumstances in one’s personal history. Or these erroneous ideas are imposed on us from the outside by outsiders.
Technique 4. Moving away unconstructive thoughts from our consciousness
Our next action on the path to transforming thinking is to recognize and acknowledge the fact that stereotypical ideas and judgments are not useful and functional. Such erroneous components of thinking do not allow one to quickly adapt to real-life conditions. Since such elements do not correspond to the real state of affairs, they contradict reality, they are not true, but false. Therefore, developing your personal philosophy of life, guided by such misconceptions, is erroneous, illogical and non-functional. With these steps, we acknowledge the existence of harmful ideas in ourselves, and at the same time, we consciously remove them from our thinking.
Technique 5. Challenging stereotypical thoughts
We record our existing stereotypical idea on a piece of paper. After that, we write down the maximum number of arguments “for” and “against” in two columns. That is, on the left side of the sheet we write down the probable advantages, advantages, benefits that we can get from the development of such a stereotypical thought. In the right column we write down all the possible shortcomings, flaws, and damage that threatens us from the globalization of this stereotypical construct.
We re-read the arguments presented daily. Over time, our consciousness will instinctively weed out arguments that can harm us, leaving only a few “correct” arguments. Since neither their number nor their strength can counterbalance our entire life strategy, such a stereotypical construct will be excluded from consciousness due to its uselessness.
Technique 6. Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of our beliefs
This step involves carefully examining, analyzing and weighing the existing final results of our belief. Our task is to conduct a study of all possible options for resolving the problem, to consider all the expected consequences of the existence of a stereotypical judgment. After which we “put” on the balance the advantages of the existence of a stereotypical belief and the disadvantages of its presence. Since in the vast majority of cases, from the presence of prejudice, we are more likely to lose and lose than to win and gain, the idea that this stereotype is useless arises in our thinking. Accordingly, the conclusion suggests itself: since the idea is useless, then it is not worth storing and cherishing it.
Technique 7. Conduct an experiment
For this exercise, we will need the presence of a person who is able to maintain equanimity under any conditions and will not hold grudges in the future. The essence of this technique is to experimentally test from personal experience what sensations an open demonstration of some negative emotion gives us. By warning our partner on a task, we remove all barriers of censorship, eliminate cultural prohibitions, and express out loud what overwhelms us. We can scream, desperately gesticulate, sob loudly, break dishes, just to completely throw out the feeling that is corroding us. We must show our anger, resentment, anger, rage with all our might. After this, we take a break and impartially study how our well-being has changed. We ask our partner what exactly he was worried about, what he was thinking about when we showed ourselves “in all our glory.” Finally, let's weigh the benefits and damages of having such a stereotypical idea.
Technique 8. Restoring objectivity in the past
Very often, an erroneous worldview is the result of an incorrect interpretation of past events, an incorrect interpretation of the actions of other people, and a distorted understanding of the motives for the actions of others. Therefore, in order to restore “justice”, we need to find our past “offenders” and conduct a frank dialogue with them. A heart-to-heart conversation involves not only expressing our emotions and interrogating, but also allowing the other person to express our point of view. We must allow the person to explain why he acted this way. This exercise will help you look at what happened with a different perspective, forgive grievances and “let go” of the past.
Technique 9. Connecting authoritative sources
Quite often, we ourselves exaggerate our fears and reinforce existing anxiety with wild fantasies. At the same time, most of us completely ignore objective information regarding the “danger” of our fears. We set ourselves the task of collecting as much data as possible regarding the objects of our fear. We study scientific literature, official reports, statistical data. We communicate with competent persons who directly encounter the objects of our fear. The more verified information we collect, the sooner our consciousness will convince itself of the absurdity of our anxiety and help us free ourselves from stereotypical thinking.
Technique 10. Socratic method
Although the Socratic dialogue technique involves two people talking, you can use this method yourself. We must have a conversation with ourselves and try to find “blunders” in our thoughts. Then we focus our attention on the existing contradictions. For example, if we are convinced that we are in danger of imminent death due to the bite of a stray dog, we present the argument that we were previously bitten by a dog, but nothing catastrophic happened.
Technique 11. Eliminating the catastrophic nature of events
How to change thinking and eliminate destructive links? We must develop our existing conviction to gigantic proportions. This action will minimize the scale of possible consequences from the occurrence of a frightening event. For example, if we are afraid to speak in public, we answer the questions: “What exactly will happen to us at the moment when we find ourselves in the public eye?”, “With what intensity will the experiences overcome us?”, “How long will the painful sensations debilitate us?” ?”, “What should happen next? Are we going to have a heart attack? Will we die on the spot? Will all of humanity die with us? Will there be an apocalypse? Will the earth leave its orbit and cease to exist?” As a result, we will have the idea that our experiences in a global sense are not worth a damn. By reducing the importance of the stereotype, we will improve our well-being and allow new constructive thinking to arise.
Technique 12. Reassessing the traumatic event
This exercise is aimed at weakening the power of the destructive feeling that exists in us. As a result, dysfunctional experiences will lose the intensity of affect, and psycho-emotional discomfort will disappear. For example, if we have become a victim of violence, and the fact that happened prevents us from living, we should repeat the phrases: “It is sad and painful that such an incident happened in my life. But I will not allow the tragedy that happened to affect my present and interfere with a happy future. “I consciously leave the drama that happened in the past and look forward to a happy future.”
Technique 13. “Becoming” a therapist
This step also involves having a partner we can trust. Our task is to convince our opponent of the fallacy and meaninglessness of our own stereotype through persuasion and bringing ironclad arguments. We must prove to our partner that the dysfunctional idea we have is devoid of any basis and does not carry any positive meaning. Thus, by discouraging another person from “preaching” this idea, we ourselves convince ourselves to abandon such unconstructive views.
Technique 14. Postponing the implementation of obsessive ideas until later
If we are overcome by an obsession to perform some stereotypical action, and at the same time we understand the absurdity and absurdity of such an idea, we can persuade ourselves to carry out such a process not now, but after a certain period of time. For example, if we desperately want to wash kitchen dishes again and again, then we set an exact deadline for completing the action - from 19 to 19.30 pm. Before this hour arrives, we leave the apartment and walk in a well-kept park. Knowing that our obsessive desire will sooner or later be fulfilled will eliminate psychological discomfort and reward us with peace of mind.
Technique 15. Drawing up a specific action plan for a crisis
How to change your thinking and eliminate negative stereotypes? We should know that understanding that if a critical situation occurs, everything will be under our complete control will minimize the fear of this event. To do this, we draw up a step-by-step program of our actions when confronted with the object of our fear. We think about every little thing we do: what we will do, what words to say, which direction to move, how fast to run. This instruction will help eliminate anxiety about the unknown.
In conclusion
Purposeful repetition
The last exercise from our course is persistent repeated targeted repetition of all the above techniques. Through daily training, we will consolidate the acquired skills and get rid of the destructive components of thinking. We will gain complete freedom from fears and anxieties, eliminate complexes and destructive ideas, and free ourselves from the blues and apathy.
