Over the last several years, I’ve been studying just about everything I could get my hands on in the Personal Development arena. One of the most important things I’ve learned from everyone from James Ray, Jack Canfield, Joe Vitale, Bob Doyle, Sandy Forster, Bob Proctor and many more is that if you focus on what you want and persistently and consistently tell yourself that you have these things, you will come to Believe it. Once you Believe it, then you will be inspired to take the actions you need to take that will bring what you want to you. Hence the saying, “When I Believe it, I will See it”.
When it comes to the way our brains learn things, REPETITION is key. Think about it – how did you learn your times tables in 5th grade math – repetition. How does an actor learn his lines – repetition. How did we all learn to walk and talk – repetition. So it stands to reason that if you want your mind to believe in a different way than it currently believes, you are going to have to teach it how to think that way by repeating what youwant to believe.
Great…that makes sense. The more you repeat something, the quicker your subconscious should start to agree with you. So in comes Affirmations. Affirmations are just statements about what you WANT to believe. They are touted by just about every self help expert as the way to “Fake it til you make it”, because essentially you are just repeating over and over what you desire to believe.
OK, that makes sense too. If we all keep repeating affirmations, we’ll all be rich and happy, right? Sounds simple enough. So then……. Why aren’t we all rich and happy? Because we DON’T KEEP DOING THEM!! I certainly have tried many times. I’ve written impassioned affirmations, I’ve recorded them, I’ve done Power affirmations, I’ve listened to meditation CD’s with affirmations, subliminal affirmations, affirmations with binaural beats…I’ve done it all. But every time, after a week or two, the time required to continue to do these became a chore – I just didn’t Believe what I was telling myself and I couldn’t see anything changing so I would stop doing them. I think this is what happens to a lot of people. But it’s really not your fault, at least not your conscious minds fault.
You see, your unconscious mind or your ego can be your worst enemy. It likes you just the way you are – warts and all. It doesn’t see any need to change, it hates change and when you are trying to change by stating things like “I am wealthy, healthy and happy”, the unconscious “Belief Detective” I call it, immediately responds with “No, we’re not. We’re broke and depressed and I think we’re coming down with the flu. Besides, this is SOOOO boring”. If you can’t get past that “Belief Detective”, or at least realize what is going on, your unconscious mind will win and keep you broke, sick and depressed. Ironically, this is how it thinks it is protecting you. Gee, Thanks!!
Furthermore, many teachers have also taught that what we think about predominantly is what we get. The more you can focus on what you want to have in your life, the quicker it will come to you. If you can focus on it with emotion and feeling, so much the better. Dr. Robert Anthony (Secret of Deliberate Creation) teaches that what you need to do, more than anything is find a way to Flip the Switch when you find yourself thinking a negative thought, or one of doubt or worry or fear. Just Flip Switch he calls it. My first reaction when hearing that was “So, HOW THE HECK do I do that?” I understand the need to keep positive, but how do you change in the moment – in the NOW – from fear and doubt to happiness and joy. That’s the 64 bazillion dollar question. It’s almost like you need to actually have a Switch implanted that you can reach out and Flip at will. Hmmmm…
Well, that’s where these AttitudeZapz! come in. Have you ever heard a tune on the way into work or have you seen some silly commercial on TV and the tune has stuck in your head all day long no matter what you did? We all do that. It’s just stuck there and you can’t get it out.
Sooo…What if that tune that was stuck in your head was an affirmation jingle? What if it was fun and catchy and a no-brainer? You don’t have to stop and take time to write affirmation statements10 times. You don’t have to stop and take time to read them or listen to them. You don’t have to stop and take time to meditate on them by listening to a CD or subliminals or anything (although all of these things are good and will definitely work, we just WON’T DO THEM). It’s already stuck there in your head like a secret weapon.
All you need to do is listen to the jingle a few times, catch the wave and get it stuck in your head and it stays with you all day long. You walk down the hall at work and sing your Zapz! You are struggling with a problem and while you’re thinking you sing your Zapz! You are cooking dinner or changing a diaper or paying your bills – and you are singing your Zapz!. You are depressed about something and you suddenly remember that you need to be present in the Here and Now, so you JUST Flip the Switch by singing your Zapz! And here is the best part, when was the last time your “Belief Detective” made a stink about song lyrics? No arguments, the affirmations just seep into your unconscious little by little, smile by smile, Zapz! by Zapz!
I’ve been working so hard and long the last couple of years learning to manage my energy and trying to get the word out to the world about AttitudeZapz!, I sometimes get surprised that life can happen and we forget all about being conscious and present. I’ve been persistent about staying in the NOW, because I have a dream and my heart’s desire to help others like me, and my Jingles always bring me around no matter what.
Anyway, I’ve had to be especially vigilant lately to keep myself positive. With a full time job, a family, the holidays, the boys home from school, my doggies, my daughter’s horses and building this dream, sometimes I feel like I’m on the go 20 hours a day. So last Sunday I decided to just take a break and watch my Super Bowl Champion Giants take on the Eagles and move on to another Super Bowl. Ahem….
Silly I know, but I’ve been a fan since I was 7 years old and they did win the Super Bowl out of nowhere last year – it could happen. I’ve worked so hard on myself and changed my life so much in the last 2 years, it was almost a shock to find out that I could get so irritated about a football game, but irritated I did get. At least I did not throw anything like my dad used to do when I was growing up (and they lost a lot back then, so that was a common occurrence). No one else in my family is a Giants fan, but they all know how much I love them. My husband even bought me a jersey for Christmas which I was proudly wearing (along with the socks my son gave me).
By the beginning of the 4th quarter, when they Giants lost possession after that 4th down debacle, I had had it. They all kind of looked at me in shock, because I don’t think I had been that upset in a long time – weird, huh? All of my great advice that I keep giving myself and others went right out the proverbial window. I was “stupid Giants this and stupid Giants that” when my son (trying to be helpful) says – “Sounds like you are Having a Bad Day, mom, so Get Over It.”
He was quoting my very own lyrics from “Having A Bad Day”. Not so long ago my first reaction would have been to go for the juggler vein with a comment like that, but yesterday, it really opened up my eyes in a way that had not been opened before. It is beyond amazing how we can let even the silliest of circumstances control how we feel and act and react– without a single conscious thought about what kind of vibration we send out. Really something to ponder and think about.
Forget about the big things, what little things do You let control how You feel? I’d like to hear.
