#Quotestoliveby

“A goal without a plan is just a wish”.

“Every waterfall starts with a single drop of water”.

“Don’t count the days, make the days count”.

Inspirational quotes are popular. You only have to look at Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to see this. Hashtags such as #quotestoliveby #quoteoftheday #quote #motivation attract thousands of posters and followers every day.

But do these short bursts of positivity make any difference? Can a few words actually change your mindset? Quite possibly yes.

Cognitive behavioural therapy is a form of psychotherapy used to treat conditions such as depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and eating disorders. Essentially it works by changing the way a person thinks. By replacing the maladaptive thoughts with new thoughts to change the behaviour and break through the cycle of thinking that causes the behaviour. It makes a person more aware.

Mantras are another way of changing thoughts and therefore behaviour. Repetitive words or sentences said to convince the mind to be more positive.

Life and business coaches engage this sort of theory in their work. They speak to the client to discover their goals. Then gradually draw the thoughts and ideas out of the client with active listening and careful questioning. Then they feedback those ideas to the client and assist them to find a way of making them happen. The thoughts were already there in the mind of the client, they just didn’t know how to get them out and act on them. The coach has assisted in a new way of thinking!

We are all guilty of negative thinking and a lack of self-belief at times – it’s human nature. In fact, negative thinking often seems easier than the positive thinking. So perhaps these inspirational quotes, if repeated in our daily lives really can serve to change our minds and push us forward to succeed. Be it large successes in business or small personal successes in life.

So why not start today? Try it. After all, “if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you”. Next time you doubt yourself or your ideas repeat a positive quote to yourself. Turn it into your mantra. Go on! Quoting my own personal mantra – “What’s the worst that could happen?”