I was dressed and ready to drive to the studio where I hosted a morning TV show. Before leaving the house, I had to take the trash to the curb for collection. As I neared the end of my driveway, I tripped and fell.

I hit the pavement so hard that my hands and knees were bleeding.

I went back into the house and, feeling sorry for myself, I was just about to cry.

I thought, “Denise, you have a choice. You can choose to continue feeling sorry for yourself, or you can choose to make today the best day you possibly can.”

In that moment, I made a decision.

I decided to have a great day instead of continuing to feel bad about something that had happened and was now already over.

As I drove to work, I declared out loud, “Today is going to be an amazing day and nothing is going to get in my way. I am unstoppable. I’m going to have fun today. I may have fallen down but I’m not staying down. I am already up and victorious! I am going to have the best day ever!”

My mood shifted significantly and I had one of the best times hosting the show than ever before. I’m not exaggerating!

I transformed my day by transforming my thoughts. My situation became a reflection of my self-talk.

Yours will too!

Your situation will become a reflection of your self-talk.

The reality is: Your outer world is eventually going to look like what you’ve been telling yourself – either in secret or out loud – all day long. That’s why you’ve got to learn to take control of your thought life!

But how? In just a moment, I’m going to hand you the five steps.

First, let’s look at the sequence of events that occurs when your thoughts control you:

When Your Thoughts Control You:

1. A thought enters your mind (either from new information or stored memories.)
2. You fixate on that thought. You may even talk about it or write about it. Heck, you might even post it on social media!
3. By fixating on that thought, you reinforce it. It becomes stronger.
4. You become emotionally charged (negatively or positively) by the thought.

The thought is now in charge of your emotions. Yikes!

NOW, check out the sequence of events that occurs when you control your thoughts:

When You Control Your Thoughts:

1. A thought enters your mind (either from new information or stored memories.)
2. You decide if you want to reject the thought or accept it. (Ask yourself, “Is this thought true? Is it helpful?” If not, decide to reject it.)
3. If you decide to reject it, you affirm something different. You affirm the truth.
4. You fixate on the truth (by thinking about it, writing it down, and/or speaking it out loud.)
5. You continue to focus on the new thought until the negative thought (and subsequent emotions) dissipates.

Notice in both cases, the very first thing that happens is: A thought enters your mind.

The day I fell taking about the trash, we can see the five steps in action:

1. A thought entered my mind: “Poor me.”
2. I decided to reject it. I rejected it because I didn’t want to feel that way and because it was a lie. I wasn’t a victim. All that happened was I fell down. I didn’t have to create an entire story around it and make myself feel worse.
3. I affirmed something different: “Today is going to be an amazing day and nothing is going to get in my way. I am unstoppable. I’m going to have fun today. I may have fallen down but I’m not staying down. I am already up and victorious! I am going to have the best day ever!”
4. I spoke it out loud.
5. I continued to speak it out loud on my drive to work until the negative thought dissipated.

I took control of my thinking and my entire day changed.

Decide today to take control of your thinking.

Start by paying attention to your thoughts. Maybe you’re saying to yourself, “I’m just trying to make it through the day! My life is difficult and I can barely handle it. I can’t take this job. I can’t get out from under this mountain of debt.”

Change it!

Start affirming truths, such as: “Of course I can handle this! I am strong! I am resourceful! I am capable of not just surviving but thriving! I will not be overcome because I am an overcomer.”

Focus on these truthful thoughts until the negative thoughts (and subsequent emotions) dissipate.

Regularly implementing these five steps will get you in the habit of letting go of a defeated mentality. You’ll be taking control of your thoughts, and your thoughts will no longer be able to take control of you!