The Rubber Band Technique

This simple technique works in two stages:

First, it increases your awareness of unhelpful or negative thoughts, emotions or behaviours you want to change.

Second, it helps you replace unwanted patterns with the chosen new ones.

Wear a rubber band on your left wrist (or right if left-handed). Twang the band when you notice an unwanted thought. This sends a  slight pain to the brain and changes the way the unwanted thought is wired into your nervous system.

Having ‘twanged’, immediately replace the unwanted thought with a positive one. For example, change the thought, ‘I do not want to be ill’ to, ‘I want to be healthy, I am healthy.’ This leave a lasting positive impression in your brain.

Remember the Law of Attraction – what you think about you attract into your life. Keep your thoughts on what you want.

The Seven Day Mental Challenge

Here is another powerful tool to help you to become a habitual positive thinker. Just follow these four simple rules:

Rule One: For the next seven days, reject any negative thoughts, words and phrases. Keep your mind off anything you don’t want.

Rule Two: If you should find yourself indulging in negative thinking, stop the thought immediately. Release it and smile at its nonsense.

Rule Three: If you find yourself toying with a negative thought for more than thirty seconds, drop the thought, wait until the following morning and (no matter how far through the seven days you are) begin again. In other words, restart counting at Day One.

Rule Four: Continue until you have completed seven consecutive days. Then keep going for another seven days, then another, then another… You’ll have embedded a healthy new habit pattern into your consciousness.

Cock-a-doodle-do!

Judge Thomas Troward, a great metaphysical teacher, strengthened his thought stopping with a dose of derision. He would mockingly say, ‘Cock-a-doodle-do’ when he wanted to prevent a wayward thought influencing him!

These techniques are as effective at clearing out your mental system as a raw juice diet is at detoxing your internal organs.

There’s more in my book, ‘365 Steps to Self-Confidence’ (How To Books, 2010)

©David Lawrence Preston, 21.3.2013

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