Pictures

It has been said that “…a picture is worth a thousand words.” For most, this rings true because those “pictures” are the mind’s roadmap to what might become. The caution falls on the fact that those mental pictures can produce a negative or a positive reality. This is the power of our imagination.

Many “achievement experts”, whether through books or live presentations, contend that visualizing a goal is essential for it to be believed and therefore achieved. From a practical point of view, there is a great deal of truth in this thought. The mind believes what it hears. It then transfers those verbal statements into mental pictures. For example, you might make a statement in a restaurant that you love peanut butter pie. When you say that, the mind is creating a picture of that very pie or one similar. You see it whether or not you have a desire to see it. It is for the moment a certain reality.

The same result can also occur when your speech is filled with negative remarks about yourself or a situation. Your mind begins to work on ingraining that fact in your psyche. Unless it is stopped and an alternative command given, your mind will continue to develop that thought until the end result produces a negative reality. Thus, you must be careful about the words you say to yourself because those words will produce “pictures” that can guide your destiny.

Here are 5 simple actions that will help you ensure that the words you use produce the mental pictures you need: 

1) Control your mind to focus on what you want; the things you desire to have, do and the people you want in your life. When your mind and its intricate channels of power stay busy focusing on the positive, there should be no time for adverse influences to interfere. Each time your mind is bombarded with anabolic impulses, it automatically will flash inner pictures of serene scenes from remembrances that give you inner peace and create happiness. This positive impact fuels the mind with only pictures that accelerate peak efficiency.

2) Watch what you say to yourself.  Self-spoken words matter. It is very important that any self-talk is conducted in a manner that always builds your self-confidence. You do not need any limiting beliefs or fears coming from the portal on the front of your face. It will only build an unnecessary passive posture as well as virtually destroy any initiative that could surface. You need to promote who you are and what you are capable of doing. Self-confidence is a powerful attribute. Feed your mind with the positive and it will enable you to get much accomplished. The only one that can effectively sidetrack or propel your mind is you. Choose your words wisely.

3) Avoid adverse news as much as possible. Today’s broadcast news, as well as most print and social media news, is filled with negative information. These reports, whether broadcast, social media or print, suck the very life out of any positive insight. Should you ever take time to fully investigate much of what you hear or read, you will find that a vast majority of it is either misleading or outright incorrect. Thus the more you can avoid the onslaught, the better off you will be mentally as well as physically. This does not mean to completely delete yourself from reality. It simply means do not allow this to be the prime focus of your day. Don’t spend every waking moment on social media or times at the start or end of your day engrossed in nothing but news. Life has much more to offer. Set yourself free from the chains of negative news and comments and seek out some positive views. You will find that feeding the good, the honest, the positive into your mind will provide you a solution-oriented view of your current situation and a new outlook on life.

4) Avoid those “lounge lizards.” You will encounter people who take great pleasure in spreading disharmony to everyone they encounter. Their joy is making everyone as miserable as they are. If they can turn smiles to frowns, it has the same impact as if they had mainlined caffeine. They take joy in compounding your sorrow and will sour your view of the world. Stay away from these people. If they are your friends, find new friends. If they are family, disconnect from regular immediate contact. If they are co-workers, find a suitable excuse to avoid their constant chattering. Your physical and mental wellbeing cannot tolerate their impulsive need to spread negativity to anyone willing to listen. You deserve better. Your life will also improve when you no longer find yourself in any way regularly connected to their den of misery. 

5)  Search out the good. I learned long ago that nothing is all bad. There are good things that can be secured even in less than favorable situations. The key is to not allow the bad to overcome your insight to find the good. Of course, that is more easily said than done at times but it is achievable. Remember that even a stopped clock is correct two times daily. Control the emotional aspect of an issue confronting you by viewing the situation from a higher - what might be termed an “eagle” view of things. When you can look above the current environment and gain a full view of the entire landscape, it is much easier to find some element of good to bring into the open. Once it has been set into motion, grab hold of that good and allow it to expand the fullness of your options. The more good you seek, the more good you can find. It is a known fact that you do get what you are looking for.

Pictures can quite often tell a very great story. It can be a story of doom and gloom or a story that expresses good tidings of great joy. Life is much too wonderful an experience to have it shanghaied by negative thoughts, actions, or deeds. Be certain that you control the pictures that go into your mind. In doing so, you will enable your inner self to always be positioned to take a “glass-half-full" not a "glass-half-empty” mindset. What a great picture that will be!