THE POWER OF THOUGHT By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D.

Have you ever been associated with people who always "bring you down?"  Their thoughts, emotional expression, energy level, negativity and cynical attitude impacts you and you feel down, depressed and less energetic yourself.  These persons are called "toxic."  Toxic people have a distinctive view of life.  They believe the world has cheated them out of something.  They think they are entitled and that the world "owes" them something.  For toxic people, nothing "good" ever happens to them and they always think negative thoughts about events... even if those events are positive.        Likewise, have you ever been around people who seem to elevate your mood and inspire you?  The way they talk, the ideas they share, how they express their feelings, their enthusiastic energy level and positive attitude, lifts your spirits and you feel better.  You feel uplifted and more energized.  After you interact with them, you have more energy and feel better about yourself and your life.  These people focus their thoughts on the positive aspects of events and maintain a positive outlook on their lives.        Whenever you wrap your own moods and feelings around others, you have empowered them to influence, even control your own emotional life.  If you always match your thoughts with those people around you, you give away your personal power.  Therefore, you may wish to pick and choose those people with whom you associate.        Even better, take responsibility for your own emotions and feelings.  Become the gate keeper of your own heart.  Let negative people in only when you feel emotionally strong enough to personally balance their negative impact.  Let positive people in all the time.        Better still, fill your thinking time with affirmations, conceptualizations, ideas, visualizations and memories which are personally enjoyable, positive, goal-directed, beneficial to those around you.  Then you can emotionally afford to let everyone into your heart.  They might even be uplifted by you.        When two or more people share their joy and delight, the interaction can become sensational.  Just like when two master tennis players play their best games with one another, the overall match is enjoyed by everyone.  The quality of it is more than the combination of individual play.  The pleasure experienced by everyone is greater than the sum of the delight experienced by the two individual each players.  Such a phenomenon is called "synergy."        We know our bodies rarely respond to external events.  Rather, they respond to the perceptions we create in our minds, the meaning we give to those perceptions, and the nature of our evaluations imposed on those perceptions.  Mental activity has creative and definitive power beyond what you can readily imagine.        The nature, quality and value of your life is created and determined by the nature, quality and value of your habitual thinking patterns. If you are unhappy with your situation or circumstance, begin changing it by first, changing your thinking habits.        There are several ways to start changing your thinking.  Here are a few suggestions.        Create an overall vision of the future you would like to have. Write down a comprehensive description of that vision.  Write it in the present tense as if it were already manifested in your life. Memorize the description.  Refer to it regularly.        Make a written list of at least 200 goals you would like to reach in your lifetime.  They can be small victories, or huge dreams.  Then need to be supportive of your creating your desired vision.  Update the list regularly.  Write "victory" beside each one accomplished.        Practice filling your mind with affirmations and images of you functioning within your desired lifestyle.  Write down your affirmations and imaginings, your hopes and dreams.  Record them and listen to them regularly.  Collect pictures of your desired outcomes. Put self-esteem affirmations on your mirror.  Regularly, paint, draw or sculpt your visualizations.        Help others realize their dreams.  You will always create what you desire if you help enough people get what they want.  Focus on the positive quality of your thinking and you create a reality of abundance and happiness.  Then, you will beneficially influence others, rather than being a victim of circumstance or others' moods and behavior.        When you practice the above thinking habits, you realize the psychological and emotional power of your own thought patterns.  When you have regular positive thinking patterns, your experience of life becomes so much more enjoyable. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dr. Thomas is a licensed psychologist, author, speaker, and life coach.  He serves on the faculty of the International University of Professional Studies. He recently co-authored (with Patrick Williams) the book: "Total Life Coaching: 50+ Life Lessons, Skills and Techniques for Enhancing Your Practice...and Your Life!" (W.W. Norton 2005) It is available at your local bookstore or on Amazon.com.