How many of you spend time in the world of fantasy?  I bet your initial reaction is to shake your head and declare that YOU are a realistic person and know the difference between fact and fiction.  Oh really?  What about all that worry, fear and stress that clouds your happiness?  Research indicates that we have between 45,000 and 51,000 thoughts a day.  That's about 150 to 300 thoughts per minute.  Research has also shown that for most people 80% of those thoughts are negative.  The negative thoughts of today are then added to tomorrow's thoughts and that is how the downward cycle begins.  Crazy, isn't it?

Let's examine some of the dialogue that runs through our head as most of us share the same words, values and misconceptions.  "I'm not good enough."  "Who will believe me?"  "I'm too fat."  "I'm too old"  "I'm not worth listening to."  "I can't do that, I'm not perfect yet."  "I don't have enough money."  "They won't like me."  Sound familiar?  The list goes on and on.  You get the point.  We all have some of the same inner voices bouncing around our brain and echoing a recycled mantra of not good enough.

If we spoke these words out loud to our friends and colleagues what would their reaction be?  Do you think they're just being nice when they're blasting our negative imagery with holes and building us up with their perception of who we are?  If your children mirror these phrases and you intercept them, what do you do and say to reassure them of their promise and abilities?  Oh, it's different now, isn't it?  Where do you think they learned that behavior?

It's a cycle that we have picked up from our parents, who learned the words and beliefs of their parents, who understood this as truth from their parents...  You get the gist.  We create these abnormal ideas about ourselves from an early age by modeling what is spoken and the actions of others.  AND IT'S ALL HOGWASH!

When we worry and hold on to fear we are projecting something that hasn't even happened yet.  We make up a story about the future and add characters and circumstances.  We become Steven Spielberg directing a science fiction movie with monsters and aliens and shadows sneaking around to 'get us.'  It's like living in another dimension.  The world of fear.  It stops us from living in the moment.  The NOW.

So what do we do about the recurring nightmares from our youth that has become the belief system of today?  Face it down.  When I was a little girl and had a bad dream, my mother taught me to remember that I was always there and in control.  I could look the monster in the eye and let them know this was only a dream and that they were there by permission.  "Get out of my dream,"  I would yell!  You can do the same thing.  Acknowledge the fear as it stems from a real emotion and then let the voice know that it's not real.  You ARE good enough! 

When you're worried about a future outcome then create action steps that you CAN control.  This really helped when we were in foreclosure.  It's why I chose gratitude as my platform.  Now, go out there and slay some dragons!

If you can relate to what I'm saying please share this blog with others and comment below.  I also invite you to read my book, "Choose Gratitude Not Attitude Even When Sh*t Hits the Fan!"