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The Mental & Emotional Diet
A diet made to keep your spirits up and feed your thinking positively.
If you are like most people, you are concerned about how you look physically.
The question is: are you just as concerned about your mental well being?
If so, this diet may be just what you need.
The Mental & Emotional Diet is a mental diet to lose the weight of negative thinking.
You will discover how to shed negative mental chatter and thoughts. We all have some of it, whether we are conscious of it or not.
Positive thinking is healthy. And, what may be more important is learning how to deal with and let go of negative thoughts that arise.
Are you ready to do it? Then commit to go on your mental diet. It will be a challenge. Stay with it for seven days. When you start changing your thinking, notice how differently you feel on the inside. Who knows what wonderful surprises are in store for you!
Introduction
The Mental & Emotional Diet is designed to offer you a way to be more conscious of your thinking throughout the day. What we think affects how we feel and what we do.
Although, the diet only lasts seven days, you’ll find that it’s a challenge.
When you make the decision to go on the diet, be kind to yourself. Take things lightly and with a sense of humour. Give yourself credit for your willingness to go on The Mental & Emotional Diet. You can do it!
Tons of Diets
A lot of people are on diets these days. There are tons of diet regimens. Some of the more recent ones include the Atkins, Rosedale, Weight Watchers, Zone, Thyroid, Mediterranean, and Okinawa diets just to name a few.
There are even diets for skinny people to put on weight.
Diets have been going on for eons. Even after centuries, new diet plans are marketed each year. All of these diets are for your body and health. But, what about a diet for your brain, your emotions and your spirit?
Almost 70 years ago, an Irishman named Emmet Fox came up with a “mental diet.” Essentially he said that just as you consciously pay closer attention to what you’re eating on a diet, start paying closer attention to what you’re thinking.
Supposedly, the average person has 60,000 thoughts racing through his or her mind each day. How many of those thoughts are positive vs. negative?
If we notice and let go of some of our negative thoughts, how much better might we feel?
Emmet Fox said that people create the conditions of their lives by the thoughts they dwell upon. Negative thinking is subtle. It sneaks up on you.
Our mental diets create our life conditions. Find out how true it is for you by going on this mental and emotional diet. The premise of the diet is very simple.
For seven days, don’t “eat” any negative thinking. Don’t allow yourself to dwell a single moment on a negative thought.
What’s a negative thought? Any thought of anger, failure, confusion, fear, disappointment, self-criticism, sadness or trouble. Any thought of disparagement, blame, spite, jealousy, or disapproval of others. It’s any thought of sickness or accident.
Any thought that is not positive and constructive in character, whether it concerns you or anyone else. In short, any kind of limitation or pessimistic thinking. Simple enough, right?
If you thought counting calories and carbohydrates was tough, go on this diet for a week. We all have negative thoughts zipping through our minds. Too often the thoughts are unconscious. We’re on “automatic pilot.”
The problem comes into play when we focus, listen and lock on to negative thoughts. The thoughts produce uncomfortable feelings which often result in negative actions. As best you can, let the negative thoughts go. Blow them off. Let them gently drift by like a cloud.
Play with Negative Thoughts
What if you have a negative thought that wants to stick around? It might be a negative thought as a critical or angry voice. Most of us experience self-talk.
Play with some of these ideas to change your self-talk and feelings:
Imagine putting earplugs in your ears. How does it sound now? Does the voice stop?
Change the volume. Turn it down to a whisper.
Change the tone. If it sounds harsh, change it to a funny, cartoon sounding voice. Or, imagine your favourite comedian saying the thought.
Move the voice. Move it around behind you or move it far, far away.
Is the negative thought a picture in your mind? If so, make the picture smaller.
Using your imagination, move the picture to a place that feels more comfortable. It could be beside, below or behind you.
Is the negative picture in vivid colour? Change it. Make it blurry, gray and small.
As you notice any negative thoughts that float up or buzz by, here are some ideas for maximizing your seven days on the diet. Try them out to find which ones work best for you.
Exercise Daily
Consciously choose a good or empowering thought and focus on it.
Exercise with letting go of any negative emotions such as anger, worry and jealousy.
Just make the decision to let them go.
Take time each day to “exercise” releasing any negative thoughts.
You’ll be surprised at what you notice in your thinking when you go on this diet.
What if you have a negative thought that you don’t want to release?
For example, a thought that makes you feel superior, smarter or right? Why do you keep it? How do you benefit from holding onto the negative thought?
In what ways might your life positively change by letting this negativity go?
Avoid Junk Foods
Stay away from negative thoughts, petty talk and gossip.
Turn off the nightly news for a week. In fact, skip television altogether.
Avoid negative people, especially during diet week.
Have a Healthy Environment
When you’re feeling happy and enjoying life, you repel negative thoughts and feelings. Choose to feel good about yourself and the people you have around you.
Go to lunch or dinner with friends you enjoy, people who make you feel good.
Take Vitamin Supplements
Pick a great quote or something that inspires and energizes you. Contemplate on it.
Read good books and magazine articles.
Listen to uplifting music, motivational tapes and CDs.
Feel good about who you are right now. Appreciate yourself fully.
Count Calories
Count your blessings. What are you grateful for? What’s wonderful in your life?
Take time to think about it and you’ll feel appreciative for all that you have at this moment.
You can find something. Start with something small. Things that you take for granted.
For example, the fact that you are alive and you are breathing.
The house you live in. The great relationships you have.
Your family, friends and people you love.
When you’re grateful, you’ll smile and be joyful. Negative thoughts won’t stand a chance.
Keep It a Secret
Oh, one more thing—when you decide to go on this diet, keep it a secret.
Don’t tell anyone.
Sometimes even well meaning friends and family can negatively influence our thinking.
Let people notice the results of your diet.
Then, if they choose to go on the diet, you can share these notes with them.
Take the Weight Off
You deserve to feel good and positive.
In fact, it’s your natural state of being.
Negative thinking is a heavy weight to bear. You can lighten up your thinking.
On this unique diet, you can take the weight off your back, your chest and your mind.
For seven days, I commit to a mental diet without any negative thinking.
As I become aware of negative thoughts, I choose to keep from dwelling on them.
I notice and release any negative thoughts or feelings.
This is my intention. I consciously and freely make this choice.
Day 1 Notes
Thinking positive is less important than noticing when I’m thinking negatively. When I get a negative thought, I have an attitude of:
“Oh, how interesting it is. Okay.”
Day 2 Notes
I am the observer of my thoughts. I just gently notice them.
Day 3 Notes
I avoid getting uptight and judging myself when I have an undesirable thought.
Day 4 Notes
How do I feel when I have that thought?
Day 5 Notes
Negative thoughts are harmless unless I’m attached to believing them.
Day 6 Notes
The “SHOULDs” are negative thoughts in disguise.
Day 7 Notes
If the thought was NOT true, how differently would I feel?
Notes
If the average person has about 60,000 thoughts per day, this diet helps me direct more of my thoughts to be positive.
Anne Siret