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I am feeling very positive today.
Perhaps watching the Republic Day parade on television and going back in time when as an eight-year-old, my parents took me and my sister to Raj Path to watch the parade live has something to do with it. I still remember the fly past and flower petals.
Lucky me, I caught one. I wonder if it still the same and some little child today shared my childhood glee. Happy memories lead to happy thoughts and then to positive thoughts – all karmically connected!
SO, I am feeling very positive today and challenge you to accept my 7 Day Positivity Challenge.
In essence, the challenge requires you to stay positive for 7 consecutive days and banish all negative thoughts.
If you are thinking along the WIIFM track (What’s In It For Me), then read on!
It will assist you in overcoming your limiting beliefs that are holding you back and help get rid of your Gremlins for once and for all.
Self-help yourself by letting your mind find empowering alternatives and imprint them in your memory.
Make your life truly exceptional by focusing on the positive solutions rather than on the constraints that challenge you.
Replace old worn-out habits and fears with new empowering habits and expectations that will help change your life- for the better.
This challenge is based on a pamphlet written by Dr Emmet Fox (1886-1951) called “The Seven-Day Mental Diet” and is mentioned in Anthony Robbins must-read book “Awaken The Giant Within“.
If you are ready to let go of limiting and destructive thought patterns and replace them with regenerating ones, then here are the rules:
- For 7 consecutive days you must not allow yourself to dwell for a single moment on any kind of negative thought. Think of it as a mental diet where you re refraining from partaking any negativity.
- If you break any of the other rules, you must start the 7 days all over from the beginning.
- You cannot focus on a negative thought or remain in a negative emotional state for more than five minutes. Ideally, the time should be much shorter but until you become mindful of the negative thought creeping up on you, five minutes will do. This gives you enough time to recognize what’s going on and put a stop to it. Remember, even one instance of lingering for more than five minutes means starting over.
- You must focus on solutions. When the negative thoughts start, the idea is to immediately start contemplating possible solutions. Spend your time solving your challenges instead of focusing on them.
Perhaps you feel that worrying is helping you in some way? The Seven Day Positivity Challenge will help you differentiate between the woods and the trees.
Easy as it sounds, it is often difficult to give up negativity.
Dr. Dennis Gersten. Dr. Gersten, a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology mentioned in a radio interview in 1998 that his research indicated that the average person runs about 15,000 thoughts per day in which at least half of those are negative – 7,500 negative thoughts in a day!
Imagine the impact on our health and ability to function since we know that our thoughts turn into our emotions and our emotions turn into physical and mental health problems!
In more recent times, world renowned researcher Dr. Barbara Fredrickson discovered that experiencing positive emotions in a 3-to-1 ratio with negative ones helped people to become more resilient to adversity and success in achieving what they wanted from life.
Positivity was the key.
80% of Americans fell short of the ideal 3-to-1 positivity ratio and I am sure that the story is repeated elsewhere too where people are unable to think positively. You can learn more in her book Positivity.
When you’re faced with a negative thought (and there will be many!), the best response is to think to yourself, “How can I solve or improve this challenge?”
The point is to immediately begin focusing on solutions. When you ask a good question, you’ll receive good answers.
If you still find it difficult to keep negative thoughts at bay, consciously ask yourself the following positive questions to refocus your attention:
- What’s great about today?
- What do I like the most about this?
- What am I most proud of?
- What am I most looking forward to?
Over the coming 7 days you will get into the habit of immediately recognizing a negative mental state and then focusing on solutions for what you feel negatively about.
If you continue the process after the 7 days are completed, you’ll develop a permanent habit that will only require a minimal amount of maintenance.
The challenge sounds easy, but you might need several attempts to complete the full 7 days. It is normal to have slip ups; after all you are changing old habits and replacing them with new ones.
Refrain from being hard on yourself and remember to keep your focus on solutions.
Karmic Ally Coaching Recommended Tools to practice a Positive Mindset
There are 4 tools that can help you win the 7 Day Positivity Challenge.
The first is keeping a Gratitude Journal to assist with your challenge. Note down at least 3 things that went right during the day and for which you are grateful. Putting it in writing acknowledges the good in your life and helps with the sub-conscious change in attitude.
The second is measuring your Positivity Ratio. Click here to take Dr. Fredrickson’s 2-minute on-line quiz and see how you score.
The third is using the exercise Step out of your comfort zone by examining your beliefs available in my free eBook Self Improvement Strategies – the Karmic Ally Way. (Click to claim the eBook and it will be delivered in your inbox – pronto).
The fourth is to work on your mindset for growth and success.
Update November 2023 We’ve added Positive Thinking Secrets to our list of tools!
Click here or on the image below to get it.
When your 7 Day Positivity adventure is completed, DO come back and share your results with us!
PS. The one book that I recommend everyone read at some point in their personal development journey is Awaken The Giant.
Written By: Vatsala Shukla
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Yes being and staying positive makes for more joy and love in your life. I have read Awaken the giant within many years ago. Starting my day with prayer and gratitude I find starts me in a + way Great post thank you xxoo
Starting one’s day with prayer and gratitude is a wonderful way to set the tone for the rest of the day, Suzie. Thank you!
I agree this is a really great way to change our thinking pattern Vatsala! I will work on being more positive for the next seven days but ultimately I always want to remain more positive for the people around me and for myself.
That’s the spirit, Nathalie! Make being positive a lifetime habit.
What a great way to change our thinking patterns, get rid of old negative habits and replace them with positive ones. I Love the questions to focus on to stay positive. It gives us a “menu of joy” and a place to start.
Thank you Kathleen. I love your phrase “menu of joy”.
Hi! Amazing idea to generate positivity throughout life!. I’m very positive most of the times but I do give heed to “the voices” in my head. And that comes into reality which is annoying. I need to understand that only positivity can manifest and not negativity. Thank you so much. I will do this challenge and win my life back!!. Thank you, thank you, thank you
You are most welcome, Shalini. Perhaps the voices in your head is your intuition trying to tell you something and caution you about actions that you might be about to take which can result in the reality that you don’t want? What we think of multiplies and manifests so it is always a better idea to focus on positive thoughts rather than negative ones. Enjoy the challenge!
This sounds like a great challenge and I feel inspired to start right away. It’s crazy to think we have more than 7000 negative thoughts each day. I like the idea of focusing on a solution to the thoughts that are dragging us down. Great post.
You must try the challenge some time Tamuria. Just doing it for a day or 2 helps us get back on track and sends the negative thought Gremlins packing. 🙂 I too was amazed the first time I read about the 7000 negative thoughts which got me even more determined to improve my mindset to make sure that subconscious thoughts that were not aligned with a healthy state of mind were removed or at least reduced.
I love the idea behind this challenge, Vatsala! I definitely need to work on being more positive – especially when I feel things aren’t going the way I think they should. I’ve gotten better at recognizing when I’m in a pessimistic mood. So, that’s a start.
This should be a great way for me to start the new year off right!
Happy New Year to you! I’m looking forward to connecting more in 2015.
Happy New Year to you and your loved ones, Jennifer. The very fact that you recognize when you enter a pessimistic mood is a sure sign of success with the Positivity Challenge. More often than not, when we hit a roadblock for a cherished project or desired outcome, we get despondent and forget all that we really have going for us. That is the time to brush off any doubts and ‘dance around’ the problem. Wishing you every success in 2015!
I am just about to take this challenge – i recently listened to TR speak about it, and now I am researching, and going to post a blog on my page to help others become aware!!!
Welcome to The Karmic Ally Coaching Experience Blog, Nicole. Interestingly, it was TR who inspired me to research more about the Positivity Challenge. I wish you tons of good luck with the challenge – sometimes it can get tough but he who dares, wins!
Love this Vatsala.
I’ve noticed lately when I start having a pessimistic or negative thought and I’m writing in my journal, I’ll start writing down what I’m grateful for. It turns things around.
🙂
Debra
Thanks Debra. Your exercise is useful to keep things in perspective.
What a marvelous challenge! I’m going to refer my newly enrolled students for ’30-Day Challenge: Get it Done’ to read this post first; what a powerful pledge to take while on the cusp of a new commitment to complete a long-sought goal! And, I’m happy to report I took the positivity challenge and scored a 2.5 which, in itself, lifts my spirits higher!
I am honored Andrea. I know your students are going to benefit from the 30 Day Challenge: Get it Done. All the very best!
Hi, Definately an awesome challenge to take. I will work on this myself. I do my best to let go of negativity every day and make a practice of it. Thankyou for the reminder.-Ben
Hi Ben! Thank you for visiting my blog. I agree that it is an awesome challenge and not as simple as it might appear. I’ve tried it myself and found that using grounding techniques help to stay on course. It also brings clarity and insight into the reason for the negative gremlin which makes finding a solution much easier.
Good luck with the challenge!