4 Books to a More Positive Mindset

Posted on December 11, 2019 by Michael and Jillian Leonard, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

Over a year ago someone asked me, “How’s your thought life?” I hadn’t even thought about how the patterns I had created in my mind had been controlling my life for so long. What was crazy the thoughts that were controlling my every move were planted from when I was a little girl and left me warped with fear, perfectionism, people pleasing, and insecurities about everything, especially my body. When I realized what a negative mindset I had, I knew I had to do something about it. I started to dive into books about the mind. When you read, it becomes your inner dialogue and I knew if I read enough and practiced, I could break the chains that controlled my mind. There were a few key books that were pivotal in me making some huge changes to my mindset. I thought I would share them with you today, what they’re about and how they helped me break through the barriers I had unknowingly put up in mind.

The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon
This was the first book I read on my journey to a more positive mindset. I remember I was stuck in a fear base, scarcity way of thinking and Michael suggested this book to me. He had just read it and was incredibly positive about anything that came toward him in life. Naturally I had to give it a read and it did not disappoint. The great thing about Jon Gordon is he writes stories that are easy and entertaining to follow but packed with lessons, knowledge, and influence. In The Energy Bus, we follow a man who has his car in the shop for two weeks. Forced to take the bus to work, he meets Joy, a happy-go lucky bus driver who teaches him a thing or two about how to bring my positivity into your life.

Some of the lessons that blew my mind is that a human heart can project up to 5 feet away and another human heart can pick up on the feeling. So if you are in a negative space or feeling down, you project what you’re feeling and people can feel it. They might not know how to describe it but they can feel it. He also talks about the power in what you speak. If you speak negative, you’re probably going to get negative. You get what you speak and words have power, just like the words in your mind. When you think negative thoughts, negative things will start to happen to you. The more you think positively, the more that will affect your mood, your words, you day, your week, your month, your year, and your life.

Believe it to Achieve it by Brian Tracy
Believe it to Achieve it is one of my favorite books by far that I’ve read. ever. Tracy is all about taking your life in your own hands and that starts with your thoughts. When you can take control of your mind, you take control of your life. When you think negative and expect bad things to happen, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy for bad things to happen. Until you take control, and ultimately responsibility for your life, you can expect the bad to keep coming.

According to Tracy, we are born with two fears, the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. Everything else is learned. All the fears and blocks you put into your head is learned from our surroundings, our experiences, and our failures. But these walls are preventing you from living a fulfilled life. Until you can reverse the negative patterns, you’ll stay in this cycle of suck. My coin, not Tracy’s. I’d recommend this book if you want to jump start your positive thinking and learning how to undo the negativity you’ve built in your head and your life.

Switch on Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf
This book was the game changer. It really broke through the most walls in my mind. Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book Switch on Your Brain was recommended by a very wise woman and I thought I’d give it a try. It is so unique in the way it is written. Leaf pairs her years of experience and research on the brain with scripture which I found was an interesting blending of science and religion. The first part of the book breaks down the way thought life affects our bodies and our well being. She had found that 80% of diseases can be traced back to negative thought life. That blew my mind because I had such a negative self talk and mindset at the time. She went on to explained how the difference between a positive thought and negative thought can affect our brain and our DNA. It’s so much to get into but crazy how one little negative thought can be the start of a downward spiral in your health.

After learning how the mind and brain work, she then teaches you a 21 day cleanse of your mind. You start by thinking the negative thought that keeps playing on loop. You bring it forward from your subconscious to the conscious part of the brain and pair it with a positive thought. For example, I had this memory of my dad that would play over and over. My dad has been an incredible person in my life but for some reason this one negative memory from my younger years kept sticking with me. With Leaf’s advice, every time I had that thought, I would immediately pair it with a positive thought, I chose the moment my dad walked me down the isle at my wedding. With practice and time, I was able to break down the loop that that thought had on me and it was replaced with the more positive thought.

Invincible Thinking by Ryuho Okawa
The last book on the list is Invincible Thinking by Ryho Okawa. Okawa as written so. many. books. like more then I can even imaging and he is an expert on the power of the mind. What is so interesting about this book is he didn’t have time to write a book but he was on a lecture circuit and was able to put the book together from his lectures. The most important lesson I was able to get out of Invincible Thinking was how powerful my mind really is and how you can manifest great things in your life just by the power of your mind. Anything from you job, relationships, even your future, if you can create a positive space in your mind, you can bring it to you by the power of positive thinking.

This is a just a small bit of what I did to get my mindset in a positive place. I also paired all this reading with yoga, exercise, medication, counseling, healthy diet, positive habits, forgiveness, rebuilding of relationships, and moving on. It is incredibly difficult when you are in the thick of it but that is why personal growth is so hard. You want to get to the other side and be the boss that you are, but you have to go through the tough stuff to actually arrive. It’s like you’re becoming a diamond, you have to go through mass amounts of pressure and hard things to break away the garbage, the rough edges, and the baggage to become the refined person you want to be. If I can give you any advice it would be to not give up when it is hard, to actually lean into it, push harder, learn and discover more. It will make you stronger and you’ll be thankful you didn’t turn around and run.