The 7 Day Mental Diet Free

The 7-day mental diet was originally brought to the world by Dr Emmet Fox, published in 1935. According to Dr Emmet Fox, everything in your life today is based on the thoughts you had in the past. The 7 day mental diet works simply by focusing your thoughts on positive thinking and choosing not to dwell on negative situations and thoughts.

Each time you find yourself caught in a negative thought – you immediately shift your focus towards positive thoughts and feelings. While I personally had little success with the concept in its original form – I still highly recommend reading it.

After a few days of trial and error – I tweaked the original methodology to suit my needs, and it is this enhanced version that I share here with you:

For 7 days you will not allow yourself to dwell on any negative thoughts whatsoever. Every time your mind is invaded by a negative thought pattern you immediately apply the 3-step Positive Formula:

1. Acknowledge it – don’t try to suppress or reject the thought, instead acknowledge its presence and affirm the following “I acknowledge this thought with respect”.
2. Wave away – this level of thinking no longer serves your higher purpose, wave it goodbye “This thought no longer has a place in my headspace so I say goodbye now and forever”.
3. Replace it – now you need to think of the opposite of whatever it was you were thinking at the time – as an example, if you were in the process of negative self-talk i.e. “I’m such an idiot because xyz” change that to “I am amazing because I have decided to take control of my life”.

For the sake of clarity, let’s discuss exactly what is meant by negative thoughts. Any thoughts held for yourself or others that fit into the following categories below can be considered to be negative;

• Failure
• Disappointment
• Trouble
• Non-constructive Criticism
• Spite / Jealousy
• Judgemental
• Gossiping
• Condemnation
• Pessimism
• Cussing / Swearing
• Anything that utterly disgusts

Thoughts of a negative nature can also come to you from beyond your own internal dialogue. You may begin to think negatively based on information observed from your environment such as the conversation with other people, reading or listening to the news, and even being the victim of others misconduct. It really doesn’t matter where the thoughts come from or how many you are bombarded by. What is important is the golden rule of the 7-day mental diet;

Do not entertain these thoughts whatsoever! You may not be able to control the first thought that comes into your mind spontaneously – but you can control any thought that comes afterwards. After all your mind has been conditioned thus far to express negative ideas, so do not expect to find this to be an easy task. That said, this is the single most worthwhile mental task that any person should have the privilege to undertake.

When you find yourself greeted by a negative thought – follow the 3-step positive formula immediately and adjust your thinking accordingly. Should you find yourself dwelling on a negative thought of any kind for more than 2 seconds, then you must hit the reset button on your progress thus far. As an example, let us say that you are now on day 6 – when suddenly realise that you’ve become wrapped up in negative thoughts beyond the 2 second rule. You must now place yourself back at day 1. It is important to be honest with yourself, after all if you cheat – you will only cheat yourself. If you are uncertain if you have entertained a negative thought for longer than 2 seconds – just assume that you did and start again. It is better to start from the beginning than to progress with doubts and uncertainties.

To give you an example of this 3-step positive formula in action;

Imagine you have just had a job interview and felt a little nervous during the process, you spontaneously think to yourself “I feel so stupid why was I born”. Instead of dwelling on the negative thought; you acknowledge it, and immediately wave it away. You then replace the negative thought with an empowering thought such as “This interview is helping me build confidence, soon I will be unstoppable!”

To give you another example of how this formula can be applied; if you are stressed out about a pending situation. instead of thinking about all the things that can go wrong, think about all the things that can go right, think about a positive outcome! Acknowledge that things can go wrong, wave away the negative possibility and replacing it with an empowering possibility. “As long as I believe I can, then I will find a way”.

You can apply this same formula in every situation you find yourself in. By acknowledging the negative thought – you don’t bury it in your heart, and by waving it away – you lay it to rest. By immediately implanting a new empowering thought – you are creating a new possibility and filling the gap so the old negative thought is less likely to return. If you find your mind slipping back into your old negative thought patterns, simply repeat the 3-step positive formula and focus your attention on the new empowering thought. If you need inspiration for positive thoughts see my article ‘The Power of Affirmations‘.

Your world and all things in it can be transformed into unimaginable beauty, happiness and success. It all starts with a change of mind. When you change your mind, your circumstances will change as if by magic. If you retain the same mindset and try to change your circumstances – you will meet with hardship after hardship. I learnt this the hard way. Work earnestly on your mind, and you will have no regrets when the life you have only dreamed of becomes your reality.

It’s important to note that successfully completing this mental diet means having 7 straight days of not entertaining negative thoughts. As I recall it took me just over a month to complete the full 7 days, as a result positive thinking became part of who I am and is now as natural to me as breathing. Anytime I observe anything negative whether from myself or sources outside of myself – I automatically apply the 3-step positive formula.

Tips for success:

• Build a support group by telling friends, family and colleagues about your commitment to the 7-day mental diet. Ask them to assist in any way they can – such as pulling you up if they catch you speaking negatively about anything. They may like to get involved in the diet with you.
• Put up post-it notes in prominent places in your home or at your work with the acronym 7DM as a reminder of your commitment. You can even set a daily reminder on your smart phone (use a search engine for the instructions on how to do this for your particular model).
• Take a few days to think about when would be a good time to begin your diet. The deeper you are able to commit, the more likely you are to see it through.
• Keep a dairy of your progress and note done any changes you notice within yourself.
• Avoid sources of negativity where possible. Choose only to watch or listen to inspiring and uplifting content.

My whole way of thinking completely transformed while I worked my way through the diet – there were points in my journey that I thought it would take months to complete. However, I was determined and as a result; I got a better paying job that took me all over London, allowing me to meet new and interesting people which further enriched my life. I was for the first time enjoying constant success, not just in my career but in my friendships and in lots of other ways. I no longer required fantasy games to escape the reality of my life – instead, I enjoyed living my own life and attracted more opportunities for success. While the 7-day mental diet is but one facet of the tools I used to turn my life around, it is most definitely at the foundation of a successful life and is still a tool I use unconsciously to this day (over 15 years later).

If you’ve tried the 7 day mental diet in the past or perhaps don’t think it’s the right fit for you, there is another way to build up a positive mind. It’s a powerful method that I used to overcome my debilitating shyness as a young adult. It’s a powerful tool that I use with clients in my one-on-ones to totally rewire their thinking at a very deep level. While it’s commonly known as Hypnotherapy, I have taken it to new heights in my pursuit for constant personal growth. Most of my clients experience profound shifts in their thought patterns in just 6 weeks with minimal effort on their part. Interested? Get in touch with me by clicking here.

To your continued success,

Andre

The Zen One

PS: You may also be interested in my article on How to create positive Karma.