How Changing Your Thoughts, Can Change Your Life

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, or talking negatively towards yourself, and others? Are you in a constant state of lack? Do you continue to wonder why things happen to you?

I am guilty of it all myself, but by changing my thoughts, I have changed my life. 

We are so accustomed to thinking about the negative, we forget about the positive. Our mindset determines how we live our daily lives, and it is up to us to change it.

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change"Wayne Dyer

If you want to change your life, first change your thoughts about your life. You may think, what exactly do I mean by that? 

The more you think and talk about the negative, the more negative you will attract into your life. The more you think and talk about the lack, the more lack you will attract into your life.

Vice Versa:

The more you think and talk about the positive, the more you will attract the positive. The more you think and talk about the abundance, the more abundance you will have in your life. 

Let’s talk about something personal for a minute. I have had acne since I was 12 years old; cystic, hormonal, and genetic acne. It’s all I thought about, every single minute of the day, literally. 

It wouldn’t go away, and I tried it all; from accutane, topical treatments, birth control, to any sort of antibiotic. It was killing me, my gut, and my self-esteem. It would keep me inside for days, and prevented me from making friends. 

I was constantly picking at my face; it was all I noticed when I looked at myself in the mirror. Whenever I was in public, it was all I thought about. I was more worried about someone looking at my skin and noticing my acne, rather than what I was doing in the present moment. It was a negative thought constantly lingering in my head. 

Since I was constantly thinking about my acne, the more I was attracting into my life. 

I began researching, and looked toward taking a holistic approach for a change. I was willing to try anything. My mom introduced me to my first self-help book- Shift Happens by Robert Holden. 

This book changed my life, forever. 

It gave me a whole new perspective on life that I was completely oblivious to. 

I was attracting things I didn’t want into my life, just by thinking about them and being aware of them. 

I started reading into self-help books (refer to list for recommendations), and found more incredible authors. 

Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, and Esther Hicks- their readings have taught me that you are in control, and your thoughts can literally change your life. 

"Your thoughts and beliefs of the past have created this moment, and all the moments up to this moment."Louise Hay

I started making vision boards and affirmation lists, that I still carry with me to this day.

Every morning I read these affirmations out loud to myself, I also repeat them in my head as I move through the day. You need to tell your story how you want to hear it, even if you don’t believe it at first. 

My affirmation examples:

I have clear beautiful skin

My skin is so soft and smooth

I am worthy of love

I love myself 

I am feeling healthy and strong

I believe in myself and my ability to succeed

I am abundant in all aspects of life

At first, I thought it was silly because I was telling myself things I didn’t believe about myself. It felt weird, but the more I affirmed that I had clear beautiful skin, and the less I pointed out my acne, it cleared up.

I went from constantly picking at my skin and thinking about it (negatively), to learning to love myself through affirmations. I changed the way I thought about myself, and life. 

This is just one example of how I have transformed my own life, simply through changing my thoughts. I have manifested an abundance of things into my life by creating vision boards and practicing these daily affirmations. 

It is almost as if you are telling yourself how you want to live your life by telling a story, repeating it over and over, taking action, and letting the universe align with your energy.  

You can do this too, with anything in your life that you want to change. It is simple, all you must do is change the energy you give off, to the energy you want to attract. 

If you want to attract more money, acknowledge the money coming in from multiple sources with ease. 

If you want to attract more health, affirm that you are already healed. 

If you want to attract more love, affirm that you are worth loving, and begin treating yourself with love. 

Affirmations are powerful. We don’t realize it, but we attract any negative/positive situation into our lives without even thinking about it (literally). 

You have the power to create a life you want, just by changing the way you look at things. It is that simple. 

I know that our negative thoughts can take over and become overwhelming, but when you start to think, or talk, about anything negative, stop yourself and say three affirmations out loud. 

If you can’t memorize your affirmations (like me), keep a list of affirmations on you, in your purse or pocket.

I consider myself living proof of this powerful way to change your life, coming from a dark place of insecurity, depression and constant anxiety. 

I was able to overcome my thoughts, and have now changed my entire life. I live an inspired and motivated life, to help others believe in themselves.

“You've been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” ― Louise L. Hay

You are the creator of your life. You are in control of how you feel. Change your thoughts, and you will change your life. 

The following is a list of everything I have done to overcome any negative thoughts:

1. Meditation

Every morning before I get out of bed, I turn on a morning meditation from YouTube for 10 minutes. My day always goes so smoothly when I mediate. We are always in a rush throughout the day. We forget to slow down. Mediating has changed my life in so many ways. I truly feel like a completely different person. 

2. Affirmations

Make a list of affirmations that mean something to you, depending on what you would like to affirm into your life. I carry a list with me in my purse, which I repeat throughout the day. I will list examples of affirmations below, but Pinterest is a good place for ideas as well. 

3. Vision Board

A vision board is something you can make for yourself with images of accomplishments you would like to pursue. For example; if you want to travel more, put a picture of a place you want to travel on your board. If you aspire to having a certain house or car, put that house or car on it as well! Hang it up where you get ready every morning as a reminder. 

4. Smile more

This sounds way too simple to be effective, but it works. The more you smile, the happier you look and will end up feeling. Smiling can literally turn your whole day around. It also leads to people being nicer to you and complimenting you. Try it, go a whole day smiling and your whole energy will change.  

5. Yoga

Yoga is extremely relaxing and can help ease your mind and slow down your day. It makes you pay attention to every single breath, bringing you into the present moment. Switch things up, give yoga a try!

6. Express Gratitude

Every morning after meditating, I write 5 things I am grateful for in my journal that I keep next to my bed. Expressing gratitude is a way to let new into your life. If you aren’t already grateful for what is in your life in the current moment, how do you expect anything new to come in? Be grateful for what is already in your life. 

7. Surrounding yourself with positive people 

This is super important. It is easy to get caught up in toxic friends. If someone doesn’t support you, or your lifestyle, and is bringing you down, get rid of them. When you surround yourself with people who bring you up and support you, life is so much easier. So, make sure you are surrounding yourself with the right people.

8. Do what makes you happy

This doesn’t need much explanation. Just do what makes you happy, and don’t listen to what anyone else has to say about it. 

Affirmations:

I greet this day with confidence and ease

I wake up excited and energized 

I will succeed 

I choose to be kind to myself

I attract only good things into my life

Things are always working out for me

I am pure beauty 

Something wonderful is about to happen to me

Everything I need is already within me

Happiness flows freely from me

I am a beautiful person 

I am a healer of my own life and others

Money flows to me from multiple sources

Abundance flows into my life with ease and grace

I attract only good things into my life

I have more money coming in than going out

Money is no longer an issue

My income increases every month

I work when I want, where I want, with the people I want

I am feeling healthy and strong

I trust my decisions today

I am happy with my life

Self-Help Books:

Shift Happens – Robert Holden

Change Your Thoughts – Change your life – Wayne Dyer

The Secret- Rhonda Byrne 

Lovability- Robert Holden

The Power of Love – James Van Praagh

Truth Heals- Debra King

Secrets of Attraction – Sandra Anne Taylor 

Money and the Law of Attraction- Esther Hicks (Audiobook)

The Power of Positive Thinking - Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

 

Thank you so much for taking the time read this. This is something that I love to share with others, because it has turned my life in to what it is today. 

With love,

Ashley Barron