January 25

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The 7 Day Mental Diet: Not 7 Days for Me

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The 7 Day Mental Diet was written by Emmet Fox. The mental diet is to rid you of feeding your mind negative thoughts. The reason? Your thoughts determine your life.

If you constantly provide your mind with negativity, the quality of your life will be affected similarly. Think good thoughts always, and your life will improve because your attitude will improve.

Emmet Fox goes into much greater detail than I go into here. I encourage everyone to read The 7 Day Mental Diet. It is short and well worth the time to read it.

A smile remains the most inexpensive gift I can bestow on anyone and yet its powers can vanquish kingdoms.

Og Mandino

First, a negative thought is any negative thought of yourself or anyone else. Thoughts of sickness, disaster, your thoughts, or the thoughts of others. That covers a lot of ground.

Newspapers, television, internet, and radio news are other places where negative thoughts are places that can fill your mind with negative thoughts. It is impossible to stop negative thoughts from happening, but if you dismiss the thought or change it to something positive or neutral in six seconds or less, it does not count as a entertaining or dwelling on a negative thought.

The goal is to go 7 days without letting a negative thought linger. If you make it through two days and stay on a negative thought for more than six seconds on day 3, you return to day 1. Keep repeating this process until you make 7 days in a row.

So long as I have something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for, I shall be happy.

Og Mandino

There may be people who have gone 7 days and are done. I’m unsure if I know if I have met anyone who has done that. I have not come close to making it 7 days in a row. Awareness is the first difficulty. I will not speak for others, but I know I am not always aware of my thoughts.

Initially, it was beyond six seconds before realizing I had a negative thought, resulting in starting over repeatedly. I was surprised to find out how many negative thoughts I had daily.

Work was a trouble spot. There are many opportunities for negative thoughts to take hold at work. Working security at a hospital brings me into contact with many people who are upset, angry, and uncooperative. It is easy to get caught up in the negativity, giving me many opportunities to practice letting go of the negative thoughts.

Above all, greet the morning with a smile.

Og Mandino

Have I made it 7 days in a row? I don’t think so. I stopped trying to count. That doesn’t mean that I have stopped trying. I just stopped counting. Why? If I reach 7 days in a row, would I stop? No. Why would I stop? In theory, I would have become so good at it that I would never linger on negative thoughts.

I’m not there yet; maybe I will never get there. The good news is I am much better now than I was when I started, and I continue to get better at it. I know there is so much negativity around that I may never make it 7 days in a row. That’s okay.

If I can keep 90-95% of the negative thoughts I’ve lingered on in the past from my mind, I’m doing a pretty good job.

Heck, a 75% improvement is pretty good. So, is it a 7 day mental diet? Maybe for a saint. I don’t know any saints. It is or should be a lifetime mental diet. It’s a title that would probably stop people from picking it up to read.

If you haven’t already, read Emmet Fox’s short essay The 7 Day Mental Diet and stick with it. It will improve your attitude and life if you put in an honest effort.

If this topic sparked your thinking, hop on the early notification list for The Master Key Experience course that dives deep into improving your thinking skills and focusing on what you want in your life.

As a thank you, you’ll receive a FREE version of The 7 Day Mental Diet.

Read more articles by John Harris

About the author

I live in Honolulu, Hawaii, after spending most of my life in the suburbs of Chicago. I am a triathlete who has survived four Ironman races and works Security in a Honolulu hospital. With help, I am growing and overcoming my introversion and self-worth issues. I assist others in overcoming the obstacles that have prevented them from obtaining the life they desire.

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