Do you ever find that negative thoughts creep into your head throughout the day? That embarrassing moment that happened when you were 14 pops up, and that’s it, you’re in a bad mood for hours. Your thoughts are powerful. So powerful that they can impact how we succeed in this world.
It might surprise you to know, we have roughly 60,000 thoughts a day. When you consider that statistic, how are you supposed to filter through and stop the negatives from weaselling their way into your head?
You are Enough
Today, there seems to be a bombardment of negative messages that weave their way through our lives. 
“You should eat more healthily, build better relationships, be a better partner,” the list goes on. Each one of these messages is trying to reaffirm the global belief that you need to be more.
So, first things first, if there’s just one sentence that should become a personal mantra, I would highly recommend, “You are enough.”
Marketing expert, serial entrepreneur and keynote speaker Alda Karen, emphasises that once you know you’re enough, everything becomes available to you.
“You. Are. Enough. As you are, right this second, reading this text. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, what you haven’t done or what you will do or what you won’t do. You are enough.”
Change the Narrative
No feeling is forever. Feelings are the nomads of the body, coming and going as they please. If your negative feelings are setting up camp for longer than you’d like, consider tapping into Lifekeys – a positivity booster that Alda has intuitively developed over time.
While there are multiple components to Lifekeys, she suggests honing in on one particular practise that has helped her have more good days than bad.
Focus your attention on a positive affirmation;
it could be a sentence, quote or practice that resonates with you. If you’re stuck for inspiration, Alda’s Instagram is filled with them, “Don’t make a permanent assumption based on a temporary emotion,” and “People say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.”
They may just be little prompts, but they can have powerful results. “It just takes two or three things that I list down, and the feeling is gone, and I feel more confident and more powerful and I can tackle the day.”
Make a List of What Makes You Cool
Have you ever tried to write your own bio for a profile or CV? If you’re anything like me, it can really make you squirm. Writing down your own brilliance doesn’t always come naturally, but Alda insists that by making a list of what makes you cool, can have a profound effect.
Start with the small things, “when I bought my first pair of Adidas sneakers. That made me feel so cool,” beams Alda. She goes from the seemingly mundane to the bigger, monumental things in her life, like when she filled every seat at a 5,000 capacity conference hall for one of her keynote speeches. “First, it’s hard to start writing, but then as I go, I’ve written four pages or something, I feel so powerful.”
Sometimes she has quick-fire moments where she’s written down a stellar list in under a minute, other times it can take much longer. “I just fire down some stuff. I read it over and I’m like, “Alda, you’ve got this” and I go into the day.
Six Positive Thoughts
Remember the 60,000 thoughts a day statistic? Here’s another one, a positive thought is over 10,000 times more powerful than a negative one. The simple logic is to then construct six positive thoughts to counteract the probability of the negative ones creeping in.
Alda uses her six positive thoughts to attract positive actions and results into her life, jotting down her visualisations or thoughts before she goes to bed. Her most recent conceptions surrounded selling out a 2,000 capacity arena in just three short months.
From telling people on Facebook that it had sold out, to finally posting a picture of a full arena thanking everyone who attended, she pictured each chapter she wanted to reach and meditated on each point first thing in the morning.
What Happened? It sold out.
But here’s a steaming cup of truth tea, you can’t just rely on writing positive things on a Post-It note and lay in bed thinking about it – you need to put in the effort too. There’s an Icelandic saying that goes, “The mind will bring you halfway, the work will carry you the rest.”
In allowing these two things to work in tandem, you are able to set yourself up for more positive actions, thoughts and eventually success.
The Psychology of Entrepreneurship
For more insight into the Power of Positive Thoughts check out volume 03 of the Psychology of Entrepreneurship podcast hosted by Ronsley Vaz and with special guest Alda Karen.
Author: Ronsley Vaz
Ronsley is the founder & chief day dreamer at AMPLIFY. He is an author, speaker & serial entrepreneur.
He has a Masters’ degree in Software Engineering and an MBA in Psychology and Leadership. He is known as the creator of We Are Podcast – the first Podcasting Conference in the Southern Hemisphere, and the host of The Bond Appetit Podcast and Should I Start a Podcast. He has an audience of over 3 million in 133 countries.