Bucket List Towards a More Positive Mindset

When most people think of what is on their bucket list, they think of things they’d like to do before they pass on to whatever other realm they may believe in.  I’ve been thinking lately about my own bucket list.  The difference however between my bucket list and what most would think of as a bucket list is that the list I’m about to show you contains things to do or try to lead you out of a negative place plagued by stress, anxiety and worry and into a happier more positive self.  Instead of the saying “you are what you eat,” I believe that “you are what you think.”  Changing your thought patterns is super challenging and takes lots of practice.  But once you get started, you will see and FEEL a huge difference within your own self and what you are putting out and receiving back from your own universe.  Like any bucket list, you do not need to do ALL of the items on this list, nor do you have to complete them in order.  Pick one or two to focus on daily, weekly, or whatever works for you.  But know that the more often you are focused, the faster you will start to see changes.  There are times I find myself getting caught up in the day to day grind and happenings around me.  When I lose focus on the positive, I can actually feel myself in that negative zone.  Changing my thoughts from negative to positive has been an ongoing practice for me for the last two years.  It’s a continual part of my evolution as an individual.  This list is not meant to be final, it can be added to as needed.  I have started with seven items of focus.  You may see future posts with numbers that indicate adding to the list as other things pop into mind.  Happy trails….

1.       Positive Affirmations – Pick one, two or in my case 5 positives to focus on.  Post–it notes are your best friends when placing these affirmations in convenient spots to read on a daily basis.  You can stick them on your fridge, inside cabinets, on the bathroom mirror, etc.  Mine are strategically placed in my cubicle area at work where I will see them and read them regularly.  Although I will admit that I have not been very committed to reading them lately.  I think it’s time to rewrite them on new post-its and replace to refresh my brain.  Here’s an example of a couple that I have.  “My body is getting stronger, slimmer and healthier every day.”  “I am ready to release the past.”  “I gratefully accept all the health, wealth and happiness that the universe pours into me every day.”   If you are unsure of what affirmations you’d like, google/bing “affirmations about _______” and you will find tons of examples.

2.       Do one thing that makes you feel good EVERY day.  Whether it is a nice hot shower for some peace and quiet, or 20 minutes of quiet reading before bed.  Whatever it is, the focus is time for you.  

3.       Move regularly.  Getting those endorphins going on a daily basis helps you battle illness and stress.  If you are one who rarely exercises or has difficulty doing certain exercises, start small.  Even if it’s for 5 minutes at first and you can work your way up to ten minutes, then 20 and so on.  Fitting in just 30 minutes of exercise every day is great for your heart, lungs, immunity and brain function. 

4.       Eat healthier.  I’m not saying throw away every bag of chips, cookies, and junk in your cabinet and go on a diet.  Diets usually fail.  Let’s face it.  Fall is here and all the delicious seasonal baking has officially started and won’t end until everyone starts making their new year’s resolutions for January.  My weakness is pumpkin ANYTHING!!  My suggestion is to start being more aware of what you are choosing to eat.  Put more whole/raw foods rather than processed foods into your body.  You will love how you feel and how you begin to look as those clothes start fitting better or even become too big to wear!  And then you grow to appreciate the treats once in a while in moderation.

5.       Fill buckets.  I suggest reading the book How Full is Your Bucket? By Tom Rath and Donald D. Clifton.  The general description of this book is that we all carry around our own invisible buckets.  When someone does or says something negative towards us it empties our buckets.  But when we feel good and positive and are positive towards others our buckets are full!  So when I say “Fill buckets,” I’m saying – go out and spread positivity and fill other people’s invisible buckets, because in turn, you will be filling your own and will feel good!

6.       Spend time with positive people. When you are around negative people and those who are constantly complaining, it begins to wear you down.  It then sends you into a negative frame of mind.  By surrounding yourself with positive friends and family members you will feel good about yourself and those around you.

7.       Be grateful.  Part of changing thoughts from negative to positive is focusing on what you do have and what you can be grateful for.  We all have many blessings to be thankful for.  By concentrating on what is good in your life, you will think less about what you don’t have and will be able to obtain more happiness and more of what you want as you appreciate what you’ve already got.  Wake up each morning and go to sleep each night concentrating on what you are thankful for.  This will not only be sure to start your day off on a positive note, but will also help you get to sleep more quickly and soundly with happy thoughts on your mind.  I know I am infamous for letting my mind wander about my daily stresses/worries. 

Positive Energy Versus Negative Energy

Have you ever taken the time to really think about the effect of positive energy versus negative energy?  Think about the happenings in your life.  Do you feel like there's a gian cloud hanging over your head and everywhere you turn nothing good seems to happen? 

Or do you try your best to find the positive in everything?  Or perhaps you tend to see-saw back and forth between the two?  There was a time recently when I spent almost a year carrying around that dark cloud.  I finally couldn't take it anymore and started looking up ways to change negative thoughts into positive.  It completely changed who I am and how I think about things.  At least most of the time.  Don't get me wrong, I still have my days, but that usually comes from negative energy coming off of someone else.  Negativity and positivity are attracted to you like magnets.  I had even read "The Secret" way before then but never fully put the power of it into effect.  I had come across a woman's blog (http://iamcheri22.blogspot.com/) who was a big help.  Her focus is on affirmations and positive energy.  During my journey of trying to conceive, I was part of a discussion board with other women hoping to get their good news as well.  I couldn't take everyone's constant griping and complaining about this and that.  I decided to put Cheri22's words of advice into play.  I started a positive thinking only board where women like myself could join and come to get away from all the negativity in the other discussion boards.  A place of peace and comfort.  A place where one could vent if needed, but only to gain insight from others as to how to look at their situation in a positive manner.  I am proud to say that this group of girls, which started in January of 2010 have grown VERY close and we all feel as though we've known each other for years!  We have secret sister exchanges every other month or so and our gift focuses on something positive.  These girls truly helped me turn my thoughts around as I did theirs.  Ok, so I'm so anxious about posting about this, that I got a little ahead of myself with a good example of my personal experience.

As I said before... Negative energy and positive energy suck people in like a magnet.  You can think of yourself as a positive person, but if you are around enough negativity, it will eventually bring you down and suck you in.  And it doesn't matter where you are or who you're with. 

However, let's turn it around... Let's focus on the positive.  Have you ever been running late somewhere and you're begging every traffic light on the way down the highway to "stay green, stay green, stay green"?  Did you notice those lights gave you JUST enough time to get through?  That's your mind sending out positive energy to get what you want.  Yes, it's a minor example.  But it works.  You can use thoughts like this in every aspect of your life.  I start most of my days telling myself I'm going to face the day's challenges and will get through through each of them successfully.  If I focus on that, it happens.  If I let one thing start to get to me, it's shot.

 Point is this:  I'm a true believer that what you put out into your universe is what comes back to you.  If you put negative energy out there, negative things will happen.  If you put positive energy out there, take a few minutes each day to envision the things you want and stay focused on those things, GREAT things will happen.  I promise!!!  Don't get me wrong, some days are more challenging than others.  Changing your thoughts around is NOT an easy thing to do, and takes a lot of time and work to really focus on.  I definitely recommend reading "The Secret".  It's a quick read and will give you an idea of what I'm talking about.  A more in depth and detailed read is "Ask And It Is Given".  This book gives you more detailed guidance to using positive energy to get the things you want in life.  I also recommend doing a google search on how to turn negative thoughts into positive which is free and only takes a couple of minutes.  I also recommend going to the top of this post and checking out Cheri22's blog.  In particular her money affirmation post.  I challenged the girls in my discussion board to do this money affirmation each day for 2 -3 weeks.  We made a promise to stick to it every day.  We would then post about any time random money came into our hands.  Didn't matter how small or large the amount of unexpected money was.  It still counted.  Our results were pretty amazing and made us all true believers and helped with our group mission/focus. 

So I challenge you, my readers... if there are any out there... to start turning your thoughts around.  I bet you will start to notice things about your conscious thoughts and will start to see things in a whole new light.  I'd love to hear how you're challenging yourself and what positives you've seen change!  Break through those clouds and get what you want down the road!