When faced with a problem, how many times have you heard the following phrases coming out of someone's mouth (even your own)? "I can't do it", "It won't work", "It'll never happen", "Nobody can do that", "There's no way", "That's impossible", "There's no such thing".

What if you could eradicate, wipe out, eliminate these phrases from your vocabulary? How would your life be improved? Do you believe it's possible to make a paradigm shift in your thinking? Then here is a deceptively simple and imminently powerful phrase to open a world of possibilities to your brain.

These are five secret words that will allow your creative genius (and yes, we all have it) to start working its magic: "I don't yet see how. . ." That's it. Five words. Let me explain why this is so powerful, one word at a time.

"I" - this takes the statement down to you, personally. It avoids globalizing (i.e. - that something is impossible) and it keeps the ownership of and responsibility for the solution in your power.

"Don't" - a statement of fact. Merely an observation that at this moment in time, you do not see. No judgment is implied about your ability to see, your likelihood of seeing, your desire to see. Simply that you don't right now.

"Yet" - probably the most powerful part of the statement. This word signals to your brain that the solution WILL become visible.

Have you ever noticed something in your environment and said to yourself, "Has that been there all along? How could I have missed that?" The word, 'yet' opens a space in your thinking that allows you to see the solution when it is available. This is another way to express the adage that "When the student is ready, the teacher appears".

"See" - this could be substituted by the word "understand". This indicates to your brain that the solution exists somewhere but you don't yet have access to it. You either don't see it or don't understand it, but it's there somewhere to be seen and/or understood.

"How" - again, a signal to your brain that there IS a way to accomplish whatever you currently see as an obstacle.

Try this magical phrase on for size the next time you run into a roadblock. And as you knock down obstacle after obstacle, help people you love to see *their* possibilities and solutions.

I think we've probably all heard just the opposite; that bad news travels fast; but I have an idea for shifting that 'common wisdom'. Start rumors about the good things going on in the world. I stopped watching the 'news' long ago because the energy drain on my psyche was more than I could bear. Imagine what a shift in our collective thinking there will be when we change our diet of information to life-affirming and positive information.

So here's my initial proposal: Begin writing and submitting press releases and articles espousing the following types of messages -

Road Rage on the Decline in Major Metropolitan Areas; Driver Civility Returning

It has been noted by an independent research poll that fewer and fewer drivers are cutting one another off at the pass. Sitings of people graciously letting fellow drivers in front of them are more frequent with each passing day. Hand gestures are more likely to be a wave of 'thanks' than a protruding finger. Drivers are actually smiling on their commutes even in heavy traffic.

This can be the start of a whole series of good-news articles focusing attention on what's right in the world. Won't that be a nice change of focus?

I love learning. I'm always energized when I find information, techniques and systems that reinforce goodness and abundance in our world.

I just went to an introductory workshop sponsored by the American Ethical Union on the topic of Nonviolent communication, also called Compassionate Communication. It is a framework for communicating that allows for connecting with the human spirit in each person in any situation.

This is a approach for connecting that meshes with my sense of what's most important; being a decent human being. It might even be termed 'heart talk". I encourage you to investigate the website of The Center for Nonviolent Communication for more details.

What I know about joy, peace, love and happiness

There is entirely too little of them going around! The media focus on the most ugly, unhappy events and most of us do the same in our lives. I've learned that when I stay away from news programs, it's much easier for me to stay focused on the goodness and light all around me.

Think about it -- how many people start and/or end their day by listening to a news program of some sort? With that diet of continual bad news, is it any wonder people remain focused on the ugly, the unhappy? I can hardly think of a worse thing to feed your brain and your nervous system right before going to bed than the 11 o'clock news!

JOYFUL TIP:
Avoid as much news as possible. At the very least, eliminate any news-watching at night or close to bedtime. Replace it with something you find enjoyable. If you leave a television or radio on while you sleep, be mindful of the 'programming' you are feeding your brain when you're asleep. Find a channel that is as innocuous as possible if you absolutely, positively must have information flowing into your unconscious mind all night long.

I'm not entirely sure where to start, but I do know that it's my 'calling' to foster joy and beauty in this world. There is such abundance in this universe and so few of us focusing on it; it seems a shame.

What you focus on, you become.
Your results reflect your thoughts.
You attract whatever you focus on.
What you believe; you can achieve.
What you focus on, you get more of.

These truisms all describe the idea that we have absolute control over what we bring into our lives. I'm not really sure how we came to be brainwashed into thinking that the power lay outside our own minds, but it seems that that is the case.

Your comments and insights are welcome.