How did you do on beginning your day with one of our key thought words? If you missed a day, don't worry, just pick up and continue each day. You'll see a pattern forming and your mental conditioning will get better and better over time.

Now for another daily helper. Even when we start out with a positive mental frame of mind and respond with a positive word, I'll bet you have negative thoughts about all kind of stuff all day long. You think about how "she didn't get her work done" and how "it isn't fair when you get all yours done and no one seems to notice". Or you get all bothered about guy that parked in space next to you so it is hard for you to get into your car at end of day. Or even more importantly, you think you can't ever get up and deliver that monthly progress report in front of entire department, you are sure you are going to make a fool of yourself.

All these and a hundred other little nagging negative thoughts about yourself and others. I've got a news flash for you. All those negative thoughts stem from part of our mental design. To some extent, you can't help thinking negatively. It is part of old primitive man protection mechanism. When you are out in wild suspicion is a good thing. Until you know how something is going to react your suspicions could and do keep your attention focused and in turn raise your chances of staying alive.

In today's world we don't face bears, lions or even rabid dogs very often, but suspicious, negative bent of our mind is still working just fine. The results are all those negative thoughts about people around us and self-doubt most of us have. But you can change your mental thought patterns.

The principle of PINT says that if you think it it will happen, eventually. So if you think about how you are going to look foolish making that departmental report, guess what..... you probably will. Turn it around. tell yourself you will do just fine, in fact you are going to be a hit after you make that report. You see most of your brain is not conscious of your world, just what you feed it. If you feed negative thoughts, then your mind will build a world of suspicion, defeat and even hate. To change that you have to "Hang Out paNTs."

What do I mean by this? It's pretty simple. Just hang out all those Negative Thoughts. Once you get them out into open you see how ugly they are and you won't want to keep them around. Even better turn them around from negative to positive.

"Hi! How are you?" "Not bad, you?"

How many times have you started a conversation this way? I'll bet you do it nearly every time you say hello. We have been trained to cultural activity of inquiring of our friends and acquaintances well being, even if we don't really care. It's civil thing to do. But I'm going to focus on your response to this ubiquitous question.

Last month I introduced PINT concept (Put It iN Thought), now I'm going to expand this concept to how it can begin to really make a change in your daily life. If you remember, PINT makes thoughts reality. When we extend what we say as reflection of what we are thinking PINT becomes our reality.

Now if I respond to ever present "how are you?" question with something like "OK, I guess" then I am reflecting indecision or even negative thoughts about how I feel or even who I think I am. If I respond with "Man, my shoulder is really killing me this morning. I must have slept on it wrong again." Then I am letting my physical condition rule my mental condition. Hurt and pain are negative impulses made to inform us of a dangerous or inappropriate activity. It is negative response to a negative activity. You body is saying 'Quit that, it hurts!'