Magic Eight Ball for Positive Thinking

Last night, I was reading with my daughter at bedtime and we came across something very interesting.  We were reading Judy Moody Predicts the Future.  In this story, one of Judy’s friends brings a Happy Eight Ball to school.  The Happy Eight Ball, also known as the Affirmation Ball, is a close cousin to Mattel’s Magic Eight Ball.  I used to play with one of these when I was a kid.  You ask the ball a question, shake it up, turn it over, and there floating in blue liquid is a triangle with the answer to your question.  The Happy Eight Ball gives some very interesting answers to every V.I.Q. or Very Important Question.  The answers go something like this:

1. You’re a winner.
2. People like you.
3. You can do it.
4. You look marvelous!
5. Your breath is so minty.

Why doesn’t my brain work just like the Happy Eight Ball?

I love it!  What a brilliant idea.  I want to hear, “You look marvelous!”, the next time I look in the mirror.  When I’m facing a particularly tough situation at work, I want to hear my brain tell me, “You can do it.”  Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.  We usually have two voices in our heads.  I remember in cartoons seeing a character with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other.  The angel would whisper positive, encouraging things to the cartoon character.  The devil would counter with quips that were sarcastic and mean.  This is oftentimes the reality of how we think.

We need to build up the positive thinking in our heads to drowned out the other thoughts. 

We need to convert our thinking to work just like the Affirmation Ball.  The Affirmation Ball never gives a negative answer.  It is always positive.  Now you might think this is a little goofy, but think about it for a moment.  What kind of people do you prefer to be around?  I know that I enjoy being around people that are positive, encouraging and enthusiastic.  Their passion rubs off on me and pretty soon I feel as good as they are acting.

The only way to become like one of these people is to think like they do.

Our minds operate on the same principle as computers.  Garbage in, garbage out is an immutable law.  There is no way around it.  The whole world works on this principle.  If we want to be positive, then we must fill our heads with positive thoughts.  Here are some suggestions to help make yourself into a Happy Eight Ball:

1. Use Positive Affirmations.  Fill your mind with positive messages.  I have used audio affirmations and can testify that they work.  They help me focus on being confident and grateful.  I use them regularly as maintenance for my mind and also on those occasions where I feel nervous or self-conscience.  They are like a vitamin for the brain.
2. Avoid The News.  The evening news is almost totally filled with negative messages.  This drags us down.  I suggest going without reading or listening to the news for several days.  I find that I rarely need it.  I think we are drawn to it in the same way that are eyes are drawn to the scene of an automobile accident on the highway.  It is sort of a voyeuristic thing.  I try to eliminate this negativity and then use Internet sites to selectively read what I need to know.
3. Select Positive Friends.  As much as possible, surround yourself with people that you aspire to be like.  The old saying that birds of a feather flock together is true.  It works because we tend to behave like those we are around.  Again, this is the garbage in, garbage out principle at work.  Negativity breeds negativity and vice-versa.
4. Read Great Books.  This is one of my favorite things to do.  I absorb things better when I see it on paper.  There are a ton of great books out there that will fill you with positive thoughts and energize you for action.  I recommend authors like Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie, James Allen, Stephen Covey, and Jim Rohn just to name a few.

I recommend doing all of these things simultaneously to get the greatest benefit.

The idea is to flood yourself with positive inputs while eliminating as many negative inputs as possible.  If you do these things, you will notice a distinct change in your thinking.  You will be more positive, confident, outgoing, enthusiastic, and successful!

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