The Institute for Advanced Developement | Dr. Larry Iverson | Strategies for Success | Creating Exceptional Health, Happiness, Relationships and Wealth
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Negative Self-Talk Eliminator

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Your Last In, First Out Brain

I’m writing this after receiving an email from a gentleman who has applied this strategy for only one week and is raving about the results he’s gotten in that short time. He wrote, “Larry, I can’t believe what an amazing, positive change I feel in only one week. I’ve told my wife, kids and co-workers about this. I wish I’d known this 20 years ago.”

Have you ever wished you were better at a job, sport or hobby? Did you ever struggle to improve at a skill but it was so slow to develop you got discouraged? Have you ever told yourself that there must be an easier way to build competency in a task? Do you have unwanted emotions hanging around and you can’t snap out of them? Here’s a way to diminish the things that bother you, and expand the skills and feelings you want.

There ain’t a magic wand. But…there are strategies for rapidly increasing your skills or competency in a chosen area.

A week ago, while doing a Strategic Leadership training for FDNY, one of the attendees approached me during a break. He asked if I had any suggestions on how to improve in two specific areas—one was becoming a more consistently positive person, and the other was how to be a better listener.

I said he needed to focus on them one at a time and asked which he’d like to do first. He said that staying more mentally up and positive is his highest priority.

I gave him a simple, very effective strategy that’s worked almost like magic for thousands. Here’s how it works.

Get a small to medium sized Post-It sticky note. On that Post-It in bold letters, print one or two words that describes what you’d like to improve. In his case he chose “Up & Positive”.

Place the Post-It where you will see it multiple times as you work or go through your day. If you want, you can have duplicates of this same Post-It in other locations.

During the day, when you see this “message to you”, pause briefly and reflect. Just focus on that concept for two to ten seconds. Pause briefly and think about what it feels like to be “up and positive” and perhaps stretch and feel your aliveness for a moment.

Or, if you’re talking on the phone and you notice the message, think about how you could inject your conversation with something positive right then. If you’re in a meeting, can you acknowledge someone who’s made a contribution? Or, you could think about something you’ve done that was fun and makes you feel good to recall it. Or, you could think of somewhere you are going this coming weekend that is fun. Or, you could think of a good friend you value in your life. And so on….

The point is that whenever you see the Post-It with “Up & Positive” on it you mentally focus on that for a few seconds. No matter where you are or what you are doing—driving, on the phone, in a meeting, showering, having lunch—you just focus on the positive a moment.

Here’s why this process works to enhance skills or traits. Your subconscious mind and memory bank are a “last in, first out” system. Whatever you put in your mind last, is the first thing the subconscious wants to replay. That which you dwell on most, or focus on most frequently, your brain wants to replay first. If the last thing you are focusing on is “life sucks” guess what it will want to replay in the next situation you encounter? That life is wonderful and marvelous? Not quite.

So when you keep focusing on “Up & Positive” for a few seconds 20, 30, 40+ times a day—you will begin feeling more that way automatically. “Up & Positive” are no longer in the back recesses of your mind, but instead right in the front. Last in, first out. This process works fast. Play with this and you will find the attitudes and actions you desire are automatically a part of your everyday life.

(After you’ve done this for a week, email me and let me know how it went.)