The more you focus your attention on something, the more it becomes a part of your life.

It’s like new car syndrome. You get a new car (or even a different car), and suddenly everywhere you look, you see people driving that same make and model.

Your thoughts work the same way. The more focus and energy you put into your thoughts, the more of that type of thought you get…whether it’s positive stuff that helps you and the people around you, or negative stuff that hurts you or the people around you.

That’s not to say you aren’t allowed to have negative thoughts. We all have “not nice” thoughts come into our head.

It’s what you do with them that counts.

One option is to let them simmer, and suck up your time and energy, and push you more and more toward the stuff you don’t want.

That’s what a lot of people do. For example, say you get on the scale, sure you’ve done everything right, only to see you’re UP two pounds. What the heck, right?

You think and feel disappointment, frustration, anxiety, even fear. Maybe you beat yourself up and sink into some spiral that sends you into a binge, which only leads to MORE weight gain.

All that’s an option, but you see where it goes: Right back to where you DON’T wanna be (gaining weight).

It’s okay to think and feel that stuff. Suppressing how you feel just leads to emotional eating and other destructive behaviors.

What’s dangerous is when you stay stuck in it, instead of releasing it by focusing on what you DO want.

Here’s what that looks like in this example.

You’re sure you’ve done everything right…but since your weight’s up, you’re open to the possibility there’s something you missed.

You re-read the foods and rules lists. You look at how much sleep you got. You double check whether you got all your water in (and at what time you finished it).

By focusing on all that–which will lead to what you DO want, i.e. weight loss–you realize that you didn’t get your last 32 ounces of water in until 8 p.m., and normally it’s done by 6 p.m.

Or maybe you realize it’s the week before your cycle, and your body’s got some temporary, pre-cycle weight gain going on.

Either way, you know what happened, and you know what to do about it, which means the scale will start moving again.

It’s pretty cut and dry. The more you focus on what you don’t want, the more you brainwash yourself into getting exactly what you don’t want.

Instead of doing that, catch yourself, and put your focus and time into thoughts and actions that’ll “brainwash” you into getting what you DO want.

If you’re not used to it, it can take some practice.

So practice. Put the effort in. It’s MORE than worth it, because it leads you to what you DO want!