The Healthy Management of Reality - Stanford University

influence on us on one side and those that have a negative influence on us on theother side. A 3 x 5 card works well, with a “+” on one side for the “positive”thoughts, and a “-” on the other side for the “negative” thoughts.Notice that there aren’t a set of “positive thoughts” and a set of “negativethoughts” that apply to everybody. What we call positive thoughts in this book arethoughts that have a positive influence on us, or that are helpful to us. Negativethoughts, as used in this book, are thoughts that have a negative influence on us, orthat are harmful to us.If you find that you are having a lot of negative or harmful thoughts andvery few positive or helpful thoughts, it might pay to “prime the pump.” To dothis, write down several positive thoughts about yourself, about your plans, andabout your personal reality. Then draw upon them throughout the day.If you notice that you are having the same types of negative thought oftenthroughout your day, and that these thoughts are getting in the way of doing whatyou want and feeling good, then you can systematically replace them with the moreenergizing thoughts.Here is a helpful thought: your mind is your internal reality, your internalworld. It is a world that is always having an influence on how you feel and whatyou do. Therefore, it is important to keep the world healthy. Get rid of thethoughts you have accumulated over the years that are polluting your internalenvironment. If you can’t get rid of them totally, at least put them in a dump wherethey can’t taint the rest of your internal world. Notice when polluting thoughts arefoisted upon you, whether by friends, family, coworkers, or the media. You do nothave to expose yourself to energy-draining ways of thinking from any source,including television, radio, newspapers, or the World Wide Web. Your mind isyour kingdom. No one else has control over it, unless you give them that control.HMOR.July2005.Muñoz.doc 74