Prosperity is something you create. No one gives it to you. So, stop waiting and get on with making it happen.



What are you thinking about right now? Is it a negative thought? Let's make some distinctions: the truth is neutral.

It is neither negative or positive. Judgments are. So often we fill our head with judgments rather than with the truth or

creative thoughts. This is the most practical advice I can give you: only think about the truth to assess your current situation AND then focus only on what you want to create to improve it. Allow no 'gloom and doom' thoughts. Why? Because, you guessed it, What You Pay Attention to Expands! That's why I wrote the book. (available at http://www.OptimizeInstitute.com )

Monitor your thoughts for an hour or so. How many are positive, charged with purpose and clarity? It is reported that the

average child up to the age of six, I think, hears 437 negative messages a day. This is a putrid training ground for negativity. So, you can be excused if you are still talking to yourself in negative terms....until this minute, that is! No more.

If you want to be prosperous, you must change your thinking. I was working with a coaching client and, during our first call, I heard, "I just can't decide what I need to do. Life is passing me by. I have no self-discipline, no relationship and

little self-esteem. Nothing in my life is working. I do not have enough money." Those were statements of truth to him. My first question was "What do you most want?" He did not know where to start. In point of fact, his first statements were more felt than accurate. As we worked, it became clear that he had many habits that served him well, that were working for him. He exercised regularly and gave himself no credit because he did it to blow off steam. He did not let people walk all over him, so, his self-esteem put up some very healthy boundaries. It became clear to me that my client, Kevin, was a perfectionist. That's trouble. It's both dangerous and unattainable.

So, we began to talk about prosperity. If he believed that his first statements about himself were the truth, could it be that he was keeping those things in place in two ways: talking about them as facts repeatedly, and, not taking any action steps to change his situation? Begrudgingly, he agreed.

He was holding those things in place in his mind by repeating them to himself daily. No wonder everything in his life had

become a downer. Time for a change--A change to prosperity thinking. The dictionary says that prosperity is 'the

condition of being successful or thriving'. You can be prosperous. Change your thinking today and see for yourself.

Here are some tips:

WHAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO EXPANDS

Listen to your conversation in your head and with others. What are you saying? What are you focusing on? It's not the glass half empty or full, it's what's filling it that counts! It is your turn of mind. NEWS FLASH! You can change it at will.

If it has become a habit for you to bad mouth, poor mouth or nay say, STOP! That's what is going into your consciousness. Your subconscious mind works in pictures. You say, "I do not smoke" and your subconscious pictures, "I smoke". It has no picture for 'not'! If you want to stop smoking, make a mental picture of yourself smoke-free, with pink healthy lungs, bright eyes and great self-esteem.

Beware. You are the painter of the pictures in your mind. Paint the ones you want and never take your eyes off them!

Accept the creative power of your mind and focus it on your goals.

BELIEVE THAT YOU DESERVE TO THRIVE

In the western culture, many people have difficulties with this. It's all very convoluted. Many seem to believe that declaring that they are good at things is bragging, conceit or arrogance. Declaring that they deserve nothing but good seems outrageous. WRONG! It is only when we think that we are superior to or more deserving than others that arrogance enters the picture. It's not about them. It's about you.

You are here to demonstrate your deeply-held values and contribute your talents. That simple. That's what makes the

world a pleasant, safe place. How can you do that if you are not fully expressing yourself? If you're living small and thinking negatively?

Not only do you deserve to thrive, you are supposed to thrive. All the conditions for that begin between your ears.

STEP OUT AND BEHAVE "AS IF"

What would you do, say, wear, want and think if you had all the success you could imagine? Start behaving that way.

One day I was giving a seminar and a thought hit me. I asked the group, "Do you have anything at home that you are "saving for good"? Clothes, dishes, crystal, linens, food, jewelry?" Everyone said that they had...almost proudly. Then, I asked them, "Has anyone every told you to 'Have a Good Day'? Of course, they laughed. Each time someone tells you to have a good day is a reminder to treat yourself well. Use what you're saving 'for good' today. Make it a 'good' day. Give yourself the pleasure that these things are meant to bring. Set a beautiful table for yourself. Wear all your clothes. Enjoy your jewelry. Go out for a good meal. Treat yourself as the most important person you know because you are. Without you, where would you be?

Prosperity thinking begins by believing you deserve to thrive and be successful. It continues by focusing only on what you want and where you want to go. And, it's all between your ears.

(c) Rhoberta Shaler, PhD, San Diego, CA.

All rights reserved worldwide.