Remember Stuart Smalley from Saturday Night Live?  If he said something negative about his life, he’d stop himself and say, “No, that’s just stinkin’ thinkin’! I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!” This was Stuart’s way of shifting his thoughts of low self esteem and personal defeat into feeling okay and even loved. If you ever tend to look at all the possible ways you or your life are no good, you can shift your thoughts into higher levels.

Thought Shifting

 So if like Stuart you do a litany of stinkin’ thinkin’, you can shift your thinking upwards. First you take note of what you’re doing. Here’s what Stuart once said to himself:

 “Oh my God, I said the wrong thing to someone. I’m going to die homeless and penniless, I’m twenty pounds overweight, and no one will ever level me.” That’s Stuart’s negative spin and is not quite the truth. Choose your own negative spin if you have one. You first pay attention to it and look at it from a distance. Stand back as if you’re on a mountaintop and take a look. No judgment, just observation.  “What am I attempting to say here?” you might ask yourself. You may be attempting to self destruct or treat yourself less than well. (You can blame it on the devil or the negative thought forces of the world.)

“No that’s just stinkin’ thinkin’ – or something like this to yourself.” “I don’t need to do this anymore. I’m a being of the universe.” Or “I’m fine just the way I am.” Or “Maybe I didn’t do so well that last time, but I can transform this, and I will.”

 And you can always remember this: “It is what it is!”

Seeing the Advantage of Everything

 If you lose something or regret something else, you can look for the advantage, the other side to all things. Maybe you hurt your leg, but perhaps this keeps you from having to do some work you really didn’t want to do. Maybe you lost something, but you’re learning to be non-attached. Or maybe you’re being opened up to a new life. Perhaps you’re being prepared for something higher or more expansive. Maybe you’re learning the importance of spiritual values. Perhaps something has worn out its usefulness or relevance in your life, but you haven’t yet acknowledged it, and now you can. Learning to see the advantage of everything is a major life transforming habit of mind.

Connecting with Your Wisdom

 Your Wise Mind has a fresh perspective on life. When you ask it what it would like to tell you about something, it will tell you the truth. A young eleven year old girl was afraid to go to sleep because she could only think of bad people who might try to harm her. She allowed herself to feel her fear, and then she asked her Wise Mind to tell her more:” It’s okay. You used to feel this way when you were a younger child, but now you can grow up some more and think thoughts of being safe.” Anyone can do this, young and old – connect with the Wise Mind, for fresh perspective and for truth.

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