Are you interested in going places you have not been to before in your mindset, your attitude and your belief system? A mindset renewal, if you will. If you are ready, let’s do it and go there. Let’s develop a way to stay in the mindset you want and need to succeed.

Let’s discuss some of the foundation and history of your mindset before we begin. Our minds are programmed to think negative thoughts. The majority of us, beginning at age five, heard “No” or “Don’t do that” more often than any positive statements by a large margin. Some examples: “Don’t cross the street”, “Don’t touch that, you will break it”, “Don’t eat that until later”, or “Don’t wear that now, we are going to visit…”

These negative statements were constantly stated to us by a factor of eight or nine times vs. any positive feedback or positive statements we heard from anyone – ever. Every single day, for many years, negative statements outnumbered the positive statements. During our time in school this pattern continued, “No Talking”, “No loitering here”, “No Parking Here”, or “No loud music allowed”.

There are multiple purposes for the utilization of positive affirmations. One of these is to overcome the negative programming instilled in our minds for years. This will take persistent and consistent work. Positive affirmations provide a pep talk to each of us whenever we need it. By taking the time to plan ahead and create a few positive affirmation cards, and carrying these with us or placing them in strategic locations we will always have a positive affirmation to read aloud. This is our self talk pep talk. You might place these on your iPhone or other electronic device as well.

Here are a few options for you when it comes to positive affirmations. If you feel you are not ready to write your own positive affirmations, think of a few names of people you find inspiring and utilize their quotes for your positive affirmations.

An example would be a quote from Jim Rohn, “Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.”

Now you rewrite this quote to become your positive affirmation, “I am living my happiness every single moment of every single day.”

Another example might be this quote from Orison Swett Marden, “Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. seize common occasions and make them great.”

You might rewrite this quote to become your positive affirmation, “I will find opportunities in everything I experience throughout the day today, and every day.”

My suggestion is to create a few dozen of these positive affirmations in your first month of practicing this mindset renewal. Read these aloud or to yourself, often throughout the day. You will feel better about your day and your approach to your day as more time is invested in this practice.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified personal and executive coach who resides in Stamford, CT.