This fortnight, I wanted to focus on something that affects us all and something that can be variable moment to moment. That is our state of mind. We all fluctuate between happiness and sadness and excitement and boredom and many other emotions in between. When you ask people what they really want, or what they want for their children, the answer invariably comes back to being happy and feeling good. At the end of the day we simply want to be happy. The problem is that this feeling of happiness can be elusive for many of us most of the time. Whilst this is far too big a topic to do justice to in a brief email, I wanted to get the ball rolling by sharing something that I have come across in my reading.It is called the 10 day mental challenge. It is based on the premise that a focus on the positives in your life creates happy feelings and a focus on the negative creates bad feelings. It is simply a set of morning and evening mental practices to help direct your thinking. Think of it as a gym for your mind (but I promise it is much easier than going to the normal gym).So please read on and I hope you gain something from this.

THE TEN-DAY MENTAL CHALLENGE

Are you ready? Here are the rules of the game:

1. During the next ten days, refuse to hang on to any crummy thoughts, feelings, questions, words, or metaphors

2. When you catch yourself focusing on the negative – and you will – immediately ask yourself questions to get you to a better place. Start with the Problem-Solving Questions (below).

3. When you wake up in the morning, ask yourself the Morning Power Questions. Just before you fall asleep at night, ask yourself the Evening Power Questions. This will do wonders to keep you feeling good.

4. For the next ten consecutive days, focus completely on solutions and not on problems.

5. If you have a lousy thought, question, or feeling, don’t beat yourself up. Just change it immediately. If you dwell on any of these for more than five minutes, however, you must wait until the following morning and start the ten days over. 

The goal here is ten consecutive days without dwelling on a negative thought. Anytime you dwell too long on the negative, you must start over, no matter how many days in a row you’ve already met the challenge. I want you to know that the power of this Ten-Day Mental Challenge is truly amazing. If you stick with it, it will start a parade of benefits in your life that won’t stop. It will create new habits, new standards, and new expectations that will help you grow and enjoy life more and more, every day! 

Problem Solving Questions

These questions are helpful when working towards a goal and/or encountering an obstacle.

1. What do I need to do today towards reaching my goals? 

2. How can I become successful and enjoy the process? 

3. What can I learn from this experience? 

4. What do I respect about this person? 

5. What's actually funny about this situation that I haven't noticed before? 

6. What's great in my life right now? 

7. How can I make this happen right now and enjoy the process?

Morning Power Questions

1. What am I most happy about in my life now? What about that makes me happy? 

2. What am I most excited about in my life now? What about that makes me excited?

3. What am I most proud about in my life now? What about that makes me proud?

4. What am I most grateful about in my life now? What about that makes me grateful?

5. What am I enjoying most in my life right now? What about that do I enjoy?

6. What am I committed to in my life right now? What about that makes me committed?

7. Who do I love? Who loves me? What about that makes me loving? How does that make me feel?

Evening Power Questions

1. What have I given today?

2. What did I learn today?

3. How has today added to the quality of my life or how can I use today as an investment in my future?

4. What has happened today that I can be grateful for?