“Picture yourself vividly as defeated and that alone will make victory impossible. Picture yourself vividly as winning and that alone with contribute immeasurably to success. Great living starts with a picture, held in your imagination, of what you would like to do or be.” – Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick
It is not positive words or phrases that turn your life around. Rather, it is the mental pictures we form when we see, hear, recite or write positive words or phrases.
If you are trying to think positive with your words, and you’re not feeling a shift in how you feel (and you’re not getting positive results), then chances are beyond excellent that you are unconsciously and unintentionally picturing the opposite.
If you are feeling down, take note of what you are picturing that causes this feeling. You will discover it is NOT the words that do you in; it IS the images that ride along with the words.
When you change your negative mental pictures to ones that are positive, your emotional state will completely shift.. automatically, and almost regardless of the words you are using.
If you have a positive mental picture – you can express yourself with negative self-talk and it will be virtually irrelevant.
If you say, “I am going to flunk this exam,” but you are picturing yourself getting an A, the negative words are cancelled by the imagery.
If a boxer says, “I am going to win,” but he is picturing himself losing, he will probably lose.
This doesn’t mean you should pay zero attention to your words. It does mean that you will be better off when you are paying 99.9999 percent attention to your mental pictures.
Here endeth the lesson.
Matt Furey
