Let’s say you went into your Doctors office and had some tests done to make sure your body is working properly. If your Doctor discovers that you are lacking vitamins and minerals, or you are underweight or overweight, he would probably suggest a change in your diet to best meet your nutritional needs. We all know how important it is to keep our bodies as healthy as we can. Eating right, exercising, and getting the proper amount of sleep are things that we all know, and should try to live by. There are so many diets out there these days that it’s hard to even keep up with them anymore. Most likely you have been on some sort of diet at some point in your life to improve your body, but have you ever considered, or even heard of going on a mental diet? There is such a thing, and I think it may be the most important diet that you could go on.

The mental diet, is a diet that is strictly engaged in mind and spirit. I am asking you to try this diet for 30 days. For one month, you are not to accept a single negative thought. Now before you panic and say that’s impossible, I tell you it is. I am not saying you will not have any negative thoughts, because once you commit to this, you may have more negative thoughts than you have ever had. But what you must do is, refuse to accept any negative thought. They will surely come, but you must not let them take root in the garden of your mind. Some of you may be thinking there is no way you can do this, or that you aren’t negative at all, or you don’t think it will make a difference. To that I ask you, are you ever anxious, worried, stressed, sad, depressed, angry, frustrated, insecure, jealous, or self-conscious? If so, these emotions stem from what is going on in your head, and without consciously making an effort to notice why you feel this way, you end up thinking that’s just how you are, and you have no control over them, but you certainly do. You must learn to refuse to entertain any thought that gives you any negative emotion. Day by day it will get easier, and easier, until learning to refuse the negative thoughts almost becomes automatic to you.

When I did the mental diet, I took a little notebook and a pen and just carried it around with me all day. Every time I noticed a negative thought, I would write it down. This is what you must do too. Write each negative thought down, then you immediately turn that negative thought into a positive one. The key is to make it believable for you. If your thought is, “I will never get over this depression and anxiety, I will always be stuck in this dark place,” your positive thought shouldn’t be, “I’m not depressed and anxious, I am the happiest person alive, and the world just glows it’s so perfect.” That is not believable to you. A better positive statement would be, “Even though I have struggled with some anxiety and depression, I am finding the right people and tools that are helping me, and I am getting better each day, and soon I will be free from it.” That is positive yet believable. This will take some effort and time, but it will help you see and realize how your thoughts are affecting your life. Another method you could use is to put a rubber band on your wrist and every time a negative thought enters your mind, you snap the rubber band and then in your mind change that thought to a positive one. This will not be easy, but this is absolutely necessary. If you suffer from anxiety, mood swings, panic, depression, obsessive thinking, or any other mental state that does not make you feel good, then this is the first step to helping you to learn the skills needed to heal. You will be astounded by how much your thoughts are controlling you. You are training your mind to obey you, instead of you obeying it.

Until you can master your mind, you will never master your life. I cannot stress the importance of this mental diet. I never would have overcome my anxiety and panic, had I not taken this first step. I had no idea how my thoughts were controlling my life. We must break the cycle. Get a notepad, use the rubber band, whatever method works for you, take the challenge. If you are ready to break free from the chains of emotional and mental snares that bind you, then this is where you must start. You can do this. It will change your life. There is hope and healing ahead. You who are suffering, you who are tired, downtrodden, hopeless, fearful, or full of despair, there is light ahead. There is peace ahead. Recovery is possible, and I will help you along the way. Even if you see no way out, I tell you there is a way, I have done it. It takes effort, and some time, but it is possible and real. I will leave you with this quote from James Allen, “There can be no progress nor achievement without sacrifice, and a man’s worldly success will be the measure that he sacrifices his confused thoughts, and fixes his mind on the development of his plans, and the strengthening of his resolution. The higher he lifts his thoughts, the greater will be his success, the more blessed and enduring his achievements will be.”

Hope On. Journey On.

Jenna