How Thoughts Shape Our Lives – And How to Shape Your Thoughts

What you think shapes your life.

That’s because what you think shapes your behavior, which indirectly controls the way your life unfolds.

If you think you’re unlucky for example, then not only will you not take any chances, but you might also actually miss opportunities that appear. You’ll focus on things that go wrong, and this will make you feel worse about yourself.

If you think you’re bad at your job, you won’t speak up in meetings, you’ll keep your head down, and you might even be less prone to power dressing!

Affirmations

In the case of a thought like 'I'm always unlucky', you now know that you're only unlucky because you think you're unlucky. Likewise the thought that 'good things never happen to me' is self-perpetuating. Ask yourself genuinely what your skills are and your assets. Be objective and ask others if necessary. Chances are you will find that you're just as capable as everyone else so the only thing that could be bringing you down is your own negativity. Accept this and replace those thoughts.

Likewise, you can also use positive affirmations in order to improve your luck. These are statements you repeat to yourself like 'I'm a successful and positive person'. Over time, if you repeat these enough they can become ingrained and part of your psyche. If you struggle to remember to use them, consider putting post-it notes up around your home.

This might seem like it wouldn’t accomplish much, but by constantly exposing yourself to these positive messages, you will be repeating the same thoughts over and over and actually strengthening the neural pathways in the brain that are responsible for creating them. As these become strengthened, they will become more likely to be activated in future.

In short, those positive thoughts can actually become a habit.

Thought Restructuring

There are other more powerful methods you can use to transform thoughts too. One is to use “thought challenging.” This means looking at the content of your thoughts and assessing whether it’s accurate.

Can you really just be an unlucky person?

And if you are so bad at your job, how are you in the position you’re in now?

Another trick is something called hypothesis testing. Here, you actually put those negative beliefs to the test in order to prove to yourself they’re inaccurate. For example, take on a big project at work and show to yourself that you can do it!

Using these techniques. you can learn to change your beliefs and that's when you will start becoming luckier.

How to Blog

While there is no one right way to blog, there are certain steps that you don’t want to ignore. If you miss some of those steps, your blog won’t have the kind of reach that is possible for it - and the words that you have to share can be a powerful tool of influence.

The book, How to Blog, is a guide that can take you from the beginning where you create the blog all the way to understanding how to monetize what you write. You’ll discover in the pages of this book all of the reasons why you should start a blog.

Among these reasons are personal growth. You’ll be amazed at what you learn about yourself once you start blogging. The book will show you how to choose the topics that you write about once you discover which niche is right for you.

The right niche is often one that you feel passionate about or that you already invest your time and money in. It can also be one that’s driven by a desire to share what you’ve learned so that others can grow, too.

Choosing what name to give your blog is covered in one part of the book. This can be a name that has a special meaning or it can relate directly to the niche that you choose.
Of course, all great blogs have good content on the pages and the author teaches readers how to schedule content.

Regular content keeps your blog fresh in search engine results pages, which is part of search engine optimization or SEO, which is also taught in the book. Even if you’re brand new to the world of blogging, you’ll still be able to set one up.

The book goes into detail about the blog themes - including the layout and design that you can personalize. If you’re not comfortable setting up your blog, then you can hire someone else and the author also shares information for how to go about doing that.

You’ll also learn about sharing content. This deals with social sharing, which you not only want to do across your own social media platforms, but you want to encourage others to do for you as well.

You can blog using Twitter bites and also share your blog through the use of share buttons that you can add to the site. How to network with other bloggers and how to make your blog a fit for mobile users is part of the guidance that you’ll receive from the book and it also covers the marketing side of blogging.

You’ll learn about email marketing, sponsored posts, affiliates and using your blog as advertising space in order to earn. The book also shares some of the common problems found in blogging - such as failing to market or network and being too general with your blog slant. 

Blogging for Dummies

You might want to join the blogging world, but maybe you’re not exactly sure how to get started and grow your blog. It’s definitely something that you want to learn because blogging has many potential benefits.

You can blog about your thoughts and emotions and learn a lot about yourself. It’s one of the best ways to experience self exploration and growth. It’s okay if you’ve never written a blog before.

Once you learn how, you’ll quickly understand how easy it is. In the book, Blogging for Dummies, the author lays out what you need to know in an easy, step by step format. The book begins with what a blog is and how you can get started.

You would begin by creating your blog. Some people come up with a whimsical name but other people use their own names. You have to just go with whichever one appeals to you.

In the first chapter of the book, you’ll learn how to get started, but you’ll also learn about the rules and ethics of the blogging world. There are some definite things that you want to make sure you don’t accidentally get into.

Part of the book talks about niche blogging. A niche is basically a defined area like health & beauty or parenthood or pets. It means the writer focuses on a specialty. If you want to start a niche blog, but aren’t sure which niche would be right for you, the author explains how you can find the right fit for you.

Another part of the book deals with corporate or business blogging. This chapter goes over how to create your marketing plan for this kind of blog. It also covers what not to do to keep your blog from delving into areas that might cause some problems.

A blog is your home in the wide world of the internet, and you would need a platform to create your blog. There are many different platforms and the level of ease in using the blog depends on the platform you choose.

Some are easier to use than others. The book informs readers about the different platforms that are available. One chapter goes over important strategies for a blogger. One of these is search engine optimization or SEO for short.

This is a means for getting traffic to your blog because SEO makes your blog more visible. This chapter also covers how to use images on your blog, including where to find them and how to fit them for your blog.

You’ll learn how to tell how well your blog is performing. This can help you understand the amount of influence your blog has. The different types of media formats are explained in this chapter - including podcasts and vlogs (video blogs).

The author has a chapter that deals with networking as well as one that explains advertising to help your blog earn money. This book can help you understand all the important steps to setting up and maintaining your blog. 

Boost Your Odds of Success with a Blog

Around every corner lurks an obstacle trying to thwart your goal of achieving success. It doesn’t matter what area of life you’re trying to address, something is waiting to push back against your efforts.

Sometimes, the obstacles in your way are the result of outside interference. It might be a person intent on destroying your relationship or a health issue making it difficult for you to get work done.

Other times it’s all in your mind. Mental roadblocks can have a detrimental effect on your quality of life if you let them run rampant and unchecked. Organization and clarity of thought are two things that can strengthen your resolve against things that get between you and your goals.

But in a hectic world, it’s easy to get and stay mired in a state of disorganization and for every day to be fuzzy due to the chaotic schedule and the fact that you’re being pulled in a million different directions.

Therefore, you need a systematic approach to getting and remaining organized with your task list and your thoughts and goals. Carrying a planner around is one way to do this, but it’s tedious and not always convenient.

A better method to allow you to streamline your thoughts and goals is to use a blog as your foundation to list, organize and adjust your efforts to succeed. You can have years and years’ worth of logs (blog posts) where you list your goals, milestones, and steps to achieve them.

You can discuss the strides you made each day as well as what set you back or caused a delay in your progress. If you’re routinely posting on your blog for an audience, it’s even more motivation to continue pushing forward and never giving up.

You’ll be able to look back and see all of the mistakes you made as well as each and every win – both big and small. You can use these as fuel to drive you forward in other areas in life.

With a blog, you’ll not only be able to use it as a record for your own needs, but others will be able to support you and offer guidance and you’ll be able to do the same for them.

It’s very rewarding when you have the ability to see what transpired over the weeks, months and years as you went from the mere formulation of an idea to realizing its success. 

Express Your Thoughts and Desires with a Blog

Do you have trouble expressing yourself? It happens to many people. They need to communicate their feelings into words and they fail to do it in a clear manner. This can cause many problems in relationships – whether it’s at home or in the office.

One way you might learn to better communicate your thoughts and feelings is by processing them on a blog first. A blog is the perfect way to funnel a flood of immediate emotions into clear and concise words.

Not only does the process of blogging, which is similar to journaling, except in a digital format, allow you to formalize your words, but it also gives you time to calm down and adjust your feelings so that you’ve had a chance to look at the big picture.

It’s not always about communicating with others, either. Sometimes, you don’t even have the ability to convey to yourself what it is you’re feeling and thinking – because your emotions are clouding your judgment.

Once you give blogging a chance, you’ll find that you develop a system of honing in on the problem, looking at it from all angles and then pinpointing a solution that works best for you.

If you have desires for your near future, you can keep a record of those on your blog and track your viewpoint on the topic as you work toward achieving those goals. Your wishes and dreams may change over time, just as they did from childhood into adulthood.

The one thing you have to be committed to when you’re using a blog to cut through emotional turmoil is showing up to write on your blog. Some people are too sporadic with the process, and you don’t want your blog to sit stagnant.

Make it a habit and set yourself up to blog in an environment that’s comfortable and conducive to putting your mind at ease so that your thoughts can flow clearly and uninterrupted.

If there are days when you don’t feel like you have anything pressing happening in life, but you want to maintain the habit, use a writing prompt. A prompt can give you something to think about and explore on an emotional level, perhaps bringing up issues that were buried but affecting you on a subconscious level.

Blogs are wonderful and versatile tools that can be used by just about anyone for self help purposes. You can grow it over the course of many years, and enjoy looking back on your development. 

Meditate Before Blogging to Improve the Process

Blogging is a therapeutic method of turning emotions and thoughts into sensible words that can be analyzed and acted upon. It’s a wonderful tool for self help and personal development.

But for many, even the process of sitting down to do a brain dump of all of their feelings can be overwhelming. It’s especially tough if you have an audience reading your blog because you feel like you’re on stage or have a spotlight shining on you.

Sometimes, bloggers get stuck and experience writer’s block, even if the emotions are floating around in their mind and they can feel it, but just don’t know how to put it into words.

One great exercise for you to do before blogging is to meditate. Meditation not only focuses your attention, but it’s very calming. When you’re calmer, it’s easier for the words to come out.

It’s best not to try to blog when you’re in an emotional frenzy if you struggle to find the right words. Instead, wait until your emotional chaos has come down from a level 10 to at least a 3 and you can convey your thoughts easier.

Meditation doesn’t have to take a long time or be complex. You can do it anywhere – at your desk or with your laptop, or away from your blog if you prefer. Give yourself as much or as little time as you need.

You’ll want to employ the use of deep breathing exercises as you meditate. Try to tap into the emotions that you’re feeling and simply watch as they enter the spectrum of your mind and you let them go for now.

Be an observer and try not to react to your thoughts at this time. Make sure you’re in a soothing environment void of distractions and outside influences. Don’t meditate in a place that’s loud or that has a lot of traffic coming in and out of your space.

If you try to blog when you’re still in a chaotic emotional state, it will be difficult for you to find the right words. Your mind will be going in a million different directions and you’ll be unable to focus and analyze the situation you’re in so that you can find solutions that work best for you.

If you engage in meditation, it’s like unlocking your ability to present the situation with facts. You’ll feel empowered to tell your story after a meditation session, and you won’t be burdened by confusion in the process.

Set and Achieve Goals By Becoming a Proficient Blogger

Goalsetting and achievement come in a variety of formats. Some people may simply do it all in their head while others post it on a social networking site. There are print diaries that you can purchase that house your goals and discuss how you overcome obstacles and achieve them.

But there’s a different way you can organize and present these thoughts and actions steps. Blogging is a form of goal setting that allows you to pair the privacy of a diary with the public accountability of a social networking site.

On a blog, because it’s digital, you can choose to keep certain things private and out of the view from the public. Or, you can display it for all to see so that others around the world can go on your journey with you, provide feedback, and sometimes offer guidance that can help you.

You can outline each one of your goals on your digital blog - those related to your financial success, your health, relationships, and more. Then as you go through each day, every week, months and years, you can describe your state of mind as you address each obstacle and discuss how you overcame it to achieve each milestone of your overall goal.

The key to successfully achieving your goals using a blog rests in your ability to be consistent with the task and become proficient in how you relay the information. You’ll want to blog daily or at least a few times a week so that there is a viable accountability track record for yourself and others to look back on.

This way, if you ever struggle with a similar or related situation, you can easily look back on previous entries to see how you handled it. Your audience will appreciate the sharing of this information so that they can apply it to their own journey and see faster results than if they had to wade through the problem on their own without anyone guiding the way for them.

If you decide to embark on a digital blog journey to systematically track your progress with goalsetting, then make sure you embrace a continual education mindset when it comes to the process of blogging.

There are always new things to learn, new strategies to test out, and new ideas to implement in an effort to get your message out and help yourself while helping others. Technology changes quickly, and you have to stay abreast of how to manage your blog so that it doesn’t get buried in search engines.

Take Charge of Your Well Being with a Personal Blog

Are you the type of person who drifts through your life day after day, letting things happen to you rather than controlling your destiny? Many people do this, and there’s no shame in it.

But it’s better if you take charge of your life and your happiness and well being and manifest the kind of destiny that you deserve and that you dream of having. There are many ways you can do this.

Even something as simple as a pen and paper will help you harness more control over your life if you use it to map out your intentions and strategy to pursue a well-rounded life full of personal satisfaction.

But most people are in the digital world these days, and you can utilize a blog of your own to put yourself at the helm of your happiness. When it comes to your well being, that encompasses a wide range of ideas and concepts.

It includes your health, your relationships with loved ones and acquaintances, your career, your finances, and more. You want every part of your life to be in sync and supporting one another rather than contributing to one aspect’s demise.

For example, if your career is suffering, then it can have a negative impact on your home life and happiness in general. Instead o coasting through your days, being a victim of whatever may happen, choose to take charge of it and use a blog to map out your plans.

With a blog, you’ll be checking in regularly to relay your intentions (however frequently you like), your strategy and the results of your efforts. You can categorize your plans and retrieve them in an instant. And your words and journey will help others going through the same thing.

You can have a daily record that encompasses everything or separate the topics and address them individually in your blog posts, such as one post for career, one for relationships, one for health, and so on.

A person blog is a record of the evolution of your thoughts, your confidence and your happiness or sadness, depending on where you’re at in life. As you implement your strategy to achieve more of what you want, you’ll be able to share that process with others and garner support and advice from a worldwide audience who shares your same values and struggles. 

Use a Blog to Problem-Solve Your Way to Success

Everyone in the world encounters problems in life. For some, the process of moving past obstacles and achieving goals in spite of them comes effortlessly. For others, it is a constant battle to push back against everything standing in your way.

There are many ways to address the various problems in your life. Some people ignore them and hope they'll go away. Other seek advice and guidance from those they trust and implement their suggestions. 

But there's one method that some have found very enlightening and helpful in assisting them through the most difficult times. It's called blogging, and it's a digital method of journaling that not only helps you organize and work through your thoughts, but interact with a global audience of people also interested in the topic.

One of the things that happens when you go to a counselor in person is they ask you to formulate your thoughts and emotions into words so they can help you work through them.

Blogging provides you with a similar platform, only instead of using your voice, your using text. When this text is published, assuming you want it put out to the world, you have the ability to seek advice from a myriad of individuals who may be able to help you through your struggles by sharing their own experiences and ideas.

Not only that, but when you are sharing your journey in a public manner, you have the ability to guide others through the dark times in their life. This can give you a deep sense of personal satisfaction and pride.

Blogging is not a difficult task, nor does it cost much to implement.  It's something that everyone, regardless of age or gender, can do to work through their problems, set goals, and achieve them.

One of the most wonderful things about becoming a blogger who showcases their personal growth and development online, is that you have the opportunity to look back over time at your journey to see how you were able to overcome the odds and work through issues that you once thought were insurmountable.

Year after year, month after month, you'll be able to see exactly where your head was at and how you were able to climb your way out of a problem.  Because a blog is a digital record, you won't have to haul a stack of 10 print journals out of your closet and read through every written word to try to find a particular memory.

You'll be able to tag and categorize your entries with dates and keywords so that you can effortlessly retrieve access to them at any given moment. This is very beneficial for those who want to use their past as a stepping stone to success as opposed to a crutch that allows them to stay mired in problems.

How to Create an Instagram Account for a ‘Non Visual’ Business Model

The appeal of Instagram for many, is that it is a visual medium. If you have a fitness business, if you blog about food, or if you are a travel writer, then this is an ideal way to share what you get up to in a way that is immediately eye-catching and engaging. People will see what you share and be instantly moved by it, making it the perfect way to grow your following further.

But for some businesses, this same visual emphasis is precisely what they see as a turn off. That’s because some businesses aren’t obviously visual in nature. A good example of this might be law, or perhaps insurance. If you run a life insurance company for example, then how can you express this in a visual way that will be interesting and engaging for your readers?

Do you post facts and figures? Bar charts? Statistics?

Likewise, if you are a corporate consultant, or an investment firm… how can you encourage people to get involved?

The answer is to find what it is that your business is really about and what it is that you are really selling: how does your service or product make people feel? What are the pain points or fears that drive them to buy from you? Understanding this is what will allow you to communicate the purpose of your business through images.

So to use the example of life insurance, this is a business that ultimately sells peace of mind to people who love their families. Therefore, the best way to promote yourself through Instagram might be to share posts of families that are doing things together. You could share ideas for activities and days out, or tips on how to provide for your family. Did you know that the most popular hashtag on Instagram is love?

Likewise, if you are a business consulting firm, then you might want to promote the idea of successful business and exciting startup opportunities. That might mean posting images of attractive looking offices, successful business men, or tips for business.

The danger as some companies will see it, is that you stray too far from the product or service, or that you in some way make your business appear glib.

But this is the mistake. Embrace being interesting and attractive – that isn’t unprofessional! Remember that you need to provide value in order for people to follow your brand. If you can’t do that, then people won’t have any motivation to keep consuming your content.