In the wee hours of Sunday morning, Dec. 26, I was awakened by an intermittent electronic beeping sound, in an otherwise dark and quiet house. It was coming from the phone, which apparently was trying to connect to the power source. As I stood there in the dark with the phone in my hand, the house suddenly came alive with a rhythmic syncopated staccato beat, coming from all around me and beneath the floor.
“What the heck is going on??!!” was all I could say.
“What?” came Ian’s sleepy voice from our room.
Turns out the printer and computers were trying to turn on, while the water distiller and the furnace were doing likewise in the basement.
We live in the country, 15 miles from town. The power wire comes in from the road to the meter. In behind the meter, the connections burned out on one side. Because it was Christmas, it was 9 days before the electrician could come and replace the meter box. It was 8 MORE days before the other guy came to switch the power off so the electrician could connect the wires at the top of the mast and in the breaker panel inside the garage.
For 17 days we had NO stove, oven, water distiller, washer, dryer, and no lights or power in most of the house.
We DID have the furnace, fridge, freezer, crockpot, microwave, hot and cold running water, some lights, and enough extension
cords to get Andrew’s and my computers running and on the internet.
While all of the above was going on (we only got our power back this morning), we were dealing with other things as well.
“Of course!” I thought. “Isn’t that the way it goes? It never rains, but it pours, as my mother has always said.”
And then it hit me. SELF TALK!!! I was listening to the same old self talk I’ve listened to for my entire life!
Things always go wrong. Things happen at the wrong time. Things are always happening to us. Blah blah blah.
When I was a student at college, they would occasionally serve us two wieners and one bun as part of our supper.
“Hey! They gypped us out of a bun!” exclaimed one student as we carried our plates to our table.
“No they didn’t. They gave us an extra wiener,” was another’s calm response.
Wow. They were both looking at the very same allotment of food. But one was felt ungrateful and wronged, while the other felt grateful and blessed.
The past 17 days it’s been all too easy to fall into the “poor me” rat hole. But even this past weekend when we were snowed in for two days, unable to get to a laundromat, or to replenish our supply of drinking water, that was NOTHING to what many Australians are facing today. There’s a world of difference between deprivation and mere inconvenience.
Napoleon Hill says the subconscious mind resembles a fertile garden, in which weeds will grow in abundance if the good and desirable seeds are not sown and the garden not watched over carefully. What happened on the morning of Dec. 26 could have happened to anyone. But tonight, as I bask in the luxury of our newly restored electricity, I can’t help wondering. Did we bring this on ourselves by allowing discouragement and frustration to creep in? If we had been diligent with our positive self talk, would our discomfort have lasted only a couple of days?
I wonder.
But you know, two years ago that thought never would have crossed my mind. It’s a whole lot easier now to see when it’s happening, and to do something about the negativity before it takes over.
I know I have come a long way since then, and it’s thanks to the Mental Cleanse, and to Michael Dlouhy, Patti, Ken and so many others in this wonderful mastermind group who have given me insights and clearer vision in so many ways. I am so very blessed and grateful to have them in my life!
~ Lessons learned from Ch.4 of Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill
© Willena Flewelling
Success in 10 Steps
Phone 780-349-7163
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Willena,
I have been on many of Michael Dlouhy’s calls and I am inspired and renewed in my thinking every time. Negative thinking is so easy to come by and so insidious. It seems very real and true at the time so we often let it fester. Thoughts are things, there is real energy in them. I love what you said “There is a world of difference between real deprivation and mere inconvenience.” I just spoke to a taxi driver on my way to the airport in Boston. He is from Somalia. Now that country has suffered real deprivation, not just temporary inconveniences. But the way anyone survives and eventually thrives, regardless of circumstances, is through a positive mindset, vision, visualization and holding on to your dreams.
Erica
Dr. Erica Goodstone recently posted..All You Need Is Love
@Dr. Erica Goodstone, “Thoughts are things, there is real energy in them.” I like the way you said that, Erica. Although I believe thoughts ARE things, it’s still a bit abstract for me to fully grasp. But I have been practising EFT for many years, and I KNOW thoughts and emotions are stored in various parts of our bodies. To say thoughts have energy in them, just makes it that much clearer. Thanks!
Willena
Willena Flewelling recently posted..When You Talk to Yourself- What Do You Say
Willena,
The things that you say to yourself is so very important. If you realize the power that your mind has you would be more careful about what you say to yourself.
Great post.
Lori
@Lori Robertson, To others too… my children, for example.
Willena
Hello Willena
At first I thought you were telling a story. But I found out that it was actually your story you were telling. Sounded like a horror tale at first. But the story did have a good meaning behind it. Sometimes you do have to look at the brighter side of life. Sounds like you live in the country in Australia. Well glad you kept your spirits up high during times like that. I had a power outage one time that lasted about a week; with absolutely nothing working; it was a mess. The whole city was blacked out. You can only imagine what that was like.
Steven Dean
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@Steven Dean, Steven, you made me smile with this response.
I don’t think I could write a real horror story, but to know you thought that at first, just tells me I’m getting somewhere with my desire to write fiction! “The Hook” is so important for drawing your reader in right away. I’m glad to know I do that once in a while.
I don’t live in Australia… I’m in Alberta Canada… but I have friends who live in Brisbane. Hence my reference to the flooding in Australia.
Willena
Hi Willena,
Consistent positive self-talk certainly does alter existing negative perceptions and it also works to maintain a positive outlook. It’s a habit worthy of adopting because it serves to eliminate stress and anxiety, and leads to feelings of overall well-being which would put us in a position to lead happier, richer, and more productive lives. Because negative thinking may have been a habit that’s developed over many years, naturally, adopting the habit of positive self-talk requires a commitment to the process of change – it won’t just occur automatically. Negative thoughts will continue to creep in at will. I’ve learned to just say NO or CANCEL after a fleeting negative thought and then replace it with a thought more appropriately positive. Over time, instances of negative thinking decrease. It’s important to be vigilant and aware of your thinking so that negative thoughts can be weeded out before they get a chance to multiply and take over.
Great post and feedback, Willena, from one of my favorite books
Dena
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@Dena-Lynn, Dena, I also like the Bob Newhart video, “STOP IT!!” It stops me in my negative tracks quite often.
Willena
OMG, no power for 17 days? That is so hard! No wonder the negative self-talk started showing up.
I call the negative self-talk Gremlins! One way to beat it is to learn to recognize when you start hearing that inner voice that triggers your negative feelings about yourself. This voice will always try to sabotage your momentum and success, brings out fear and causes your progress to halt. Regain your self confidence by reminding yourself how you’ve been successful in the past to affirm your abilities and talents.
I’ve actually written a post about this last year entitled “Meet Your Own Gremlin” or something. — Cherrie D. Bautista
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The power of the Tongue and Mind can create positive energy to allow us all to do great things. I’ve been working on mind set for a long time and using my Word to be the driven power to get me to the next level with my actions. I enjoyed reading your blog….”Self Talk can change your life if your willing to listen”.
Thanks..
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Love the story, I always thought that things in the US or Canada would happen quickly, there is no way I would have waited 17 days for my power to come back on without being in the negative self talk. Not even during the floods here in Brisbane would I have expected the power to be off for so long. Great example of you staying positive.
Belinda
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Hi Willena,
Great lesson! It is so much easier to catch yourself once you are aware of those negative thoughts. You hit the nail on the head when you said, “When it rains it pours, like your mother always said.” I always say that and “Murphy’s Law, like when you’re in a rush you always get stuck behind a slow poke” well of course because you just thought it into play….. I love the analogy of the garden that has to be weeded or else the weeds take over and kill the flowers. So, so true in life! If we don’t keep the flowers alive with positive energy and positive words the negative thoughts will kill them off.
Thank you for sharing your insight. I appreciate your friendship and the beautiful person you are!
God Bless,
Trish
Trish Kirby recently posted..Are the Elephants in your Mind Stomping out your Dreams
I use ho’oponopono to get rid of negative chatter. It has worked for me. It is a Hawaiian practice of clearing and forgiveness. Whatever means you use to get rid of the negative chatter it is important to do this otherwise we just sink into a well of self pity and stagnant growth.
[...] we need to say, “STOP IT!!!” and replace our negative self talk with a good, solid, positive self talk. Say it a hundred times a day. MANY HUNDREDS if necessary. Not to beat ourselves up, or to force [...]
You have a very interesting blog here.. I hope that is will work with me..
@Sally Thompson, Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment.
A good, positive self talk always helps, Sally.
There’s always two ways of looking at things. If you are in a bank with 50 people and someone comes in to rob the bank and shoots one bullet and hits you in the arm, are you lucky or unlucky? Some would say you were lucky because it could have hit you in the head, while other would say you were unlucky – out of 50 people you were the only one hit.
It’s all in how you look at it, isn’t it, Sam? That bullet causes damage, but how I view it will greatly increase or minimize that damage. I am the winner or loser, depending on how I look at what happened.