Are you listening to music as you read this?

 Is the tv on in the background? What is the last thing you read?

What kind of conversations have you had today?

All of these are examples of inputs to your brain, and today I’d like to encourage you to:

• Become more aware of your inputs.
• Sift them through your values and goals.
• Replace negative inputs with positive ones.

 Inputs such as music, tv, conversations, and things you read effect your subconscious and conscious mind on a scale of negative to positive. A steady diet of one of the extremes in inputs will certainly have a strong effect on your thinking, so one needs a strategy to control what is let in.

The first step is to become aware of all your inputs. This involves taking note of what songs are playing and their lyrics, what tv shows you are drawn to watching, how you are using your phone (scrolling through news and social media?), conversation topics with your friends and family and even conversations with yourself, my friend!

Once you are aware of your inputs, next comes evaluating their place on the negative/positive scale.  You may not have even been aware of how far certain lyrics are from your value system, but your subconscious is soaking up every word!

It is important to sift all inputs through the sieve of your values and goals.  

• Are you spending too much time reading stressful news?
•  Are you finding yourself comparing your life to others’ lives on social media?
•  Do you have a friend whose conversation is toxic?

It is time to sort out the toxic and minimize their input as much as possible.

But you are not finished! It’s not enough to delete the toxic. You need to fill that void with positive input.

• Deliberately choose a radio station or play list that is more positive.
• Deliberately choose tv programs that will inspire and be in line with your values.
• Deliberately steer conversations to be positive.
•  Deliberately fill your mind with positive affirmations that you speak aloud and post inspirational quotes on your mirror.

If you would like to hear a unique explanation of how inputs from your environment effect your mindset, check out this video:

-Jan Jones