Everything found in the universe is made up of energy. This goes for both physical and nonphysical objects.
Basic physics and chemistry tells us that a physical object, such as a building, a tree, or this book, is made up of billions of individual atoms—little energy bundles that interact and bond with other atoms into many forms including water, metals, plants, soil, plastics, wood pulp, and other raw materials used to manufacture physical objects.
Nonphysical things—including thoughts, whether positive or negative thoughts are also made up of energy and, can also “bond” and interact with aspects and objects of our physical world.
How We Interact With Positive and Negative Energy
It’s well known, for instance, that our brain waves are a form of intense energy that can be easily detected with standard medical equipment—and that can interact with our physical world as any other form of energy would. Perhaps you’re wondering, what do I mean by “interact with our physical world”?
Have you ever thought about a distant friend, only to get a phone call from them minutes later?
Have you ever driven down a highway wondering whether you’ll get a speeding ticket—only to see flashing red lights in your rearview mirror?
That’s your brain waves interacting with your physical reality.
How to Create Positive Results in Your Life
Luckily, it’s also possible to use your thoughts to intentionally create the positive results you want in your life.
If you’ve ever desired something intensely for months, only to suddenly receive it through serendipitous means—or step into a situation where it was provided to you—that was also your thoughts, intention, and desire impacting your experience.
The world, as we have created it, is a process of our thinking and it cannot be changed without changing our thinking. @JackCanfield (Click to Tweet!)
Albert Einstein studied this phenomenon in 1935 when he experimented with quantum mechanics—the idea that energetically activating a particle on one side of the universe created an instantaneous response in a “partner” particle elsewhere in the universe.
Columbia University professor Brian Greene explains it this way:
“According to quantum theory and the many experiments that bear out its predictions, the quantum connection between two particles can persist even if they are on opposite sides of the universe.”
In other words, something that happens over here can be entwined with something that happens over there.
A number of other documented experiments have also proven that thoughts can rapidly travel through space and either be picked up by others or have an effect on matter.
We also know from polygraph (or lie-detector) tests that your body reacts to your thoughts—changing your temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, muscle tension, and how much your hands sweat.
When you are hooked up to a lie detector and are asked a question such as “Did you take the money?”
Your hands will get colder, your heart will beat faster, your blood pressure will go up, your breathing will get faster, your muscles will get tighter, and your hands will sweat if you did take the money and you lie about it.
These kinds of physiological changes occur not only when you are lying but also in reaction to every thought you think.
Every cell in your body is affected by every thought you have.
How Negative Energy Affects the Body
Negative thoughts affect your body negatively—weakening you, making you sweat, and making you uptight. Positive thoughts affect your body in a positive way, making you more relaxed, centered, open, and alert. Positive thoughts cause the secretion of endorphins in the brain and reduce pain and increase pleasure.
Psychiatrist Daniel G. Amen has named the limiting thoughts we hear in our head ANTs—Automatic Negative Thoughts.
And just like real ants at a picnic, your ANTs can ruin your experience of life. Dr. Amen recommends that you learn to stomp the ANTs.
- First, you have to become aware of them.
- Second, you have to shake them off and stomp them by challenging them.
- Finally, you have to replace them with more positive and affirming thoughts.
The key to dealing with any kind of negative thinking is to realize that you are ultimately in charge of whether to listen to or agree with any thought.
Just because you think it—or hear it—doesn’t mean it’s true.
“You want to constantly ask yourself, “Is this thought helping me or hurting me?”
“Is it getting me closer to where I want to go, or taking me further away?”
“Is it motivating me to action, or is it blocking me with fear and self-doubt?”
You have to learn to challenge and talk back to the thoughts that are not serving you in creating greater success and happiness.
How to Become Aware of Your Negative Thoughts
My friend Doug Bench recommends writing down every negative thought you think or say out loud and every negative thought you hear anyone else say—for three whole days! Make sure that two of the days are workdays and that one is a weekend day.
Ask your spouse or partner, children, roommates, and fellow employees to catch you and impose a dollar fine every time they hear you uttering a negative thought.
In a recent five-day workshop I conducted, participants had to put $2 in a bowl every time they said anything that was blaming, justifying, or self-negating.
It was amazing to see how fast the bowl filled up.
However, as the five days went on, there were fewer and fewer automatic negative comments as everyone became more aware.
What if you could learn to always talk to yourself like a winner instead of a loser?
What if you could transform your negative self-talk into positive self-talk?
What if you could silence your thoughts of lack and limitation and replace them with thoughts of abundance and unlimited possibility?
What if you could replace any victim language in your thoughts with the language of empowerment?
And what if you could transform your inner critic, who judges your every move, into a supportive inner coach who would encourage you and give you confidence as you faced new situations and risks?
The good news is that all of this is possible with a little awareness, focus, and intention.
Write down every thought that you have for three days. This may surprise you. As you become more aware of your negative comments you’ll be able to clear your negative energy.
Finally, I want you to answer this….
What is your most common negative thought? “I can’t? I’m not good enough? If I do that I’ll fail? I can’t say what I really think? It’s too dangerous to stand up for what I believe?”
What would be the opposite thought that you could choose to think instead? Write it below in the comments.
As the beloved originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, Jack Canfield fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre—and watched it grow to a billion dollar market. As the driving force behind the development and delivery of over 100 million books sold through the Chicken Soup for the Soul® franchise, Jack Canfield is uniquely qualified to talk about success. Jack is America’s #1 Success Coach and wrote the life-changing book The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be and Jack speaks around the world on this subject. Check out his newest book The 30-Day Sobriety Solution: How to Cut Back or Quit Drinking in the Privacy of Your Own Home. Follow Jack at www.jackcanfield.com and sign up for his free resources today!
Image courtesy of Alina Vilchenko.
