I happened to catch the Today Show this morning when a psychologist and Glamour Magazine editor were commenting on a startling report which found that women have on average 13 brutally negative thoughts a day about their bodies. That’s about one every waking hour.  Some had as much as 100.  (Here is the link to the show to find out more:  http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41669051/ns/today-today_health/)   

Then the psychologist repeated this saying that has become common in her field, “Neurons that fire together wire together.”   In other words, thoughts that we have repeatedly throughout the day about ourselves determines how our brain gets wired around our self-concept and, by extension, everything else we perceive.   She suggested that all those hateful thoughts about our body become a habit that keeps us trapped into general low self-esteem and powerlessness.

Well…I’m wondering what would happen if we had 13 positive thoughts about ourselves combined with grateful thoughts about our lives every day?  If the axiom holds true that “Neurons that fire together wire together”, then these thoughts will work together to wire our brains around naturally self-loving, life-loving concepts that produce high self-esteem and self-empowerment.  That’s my theory.

There’s only one way to find out. And because this is the Gratitude Experiment, let’s experiment with this idea: try for this for a few weeks and report back with your results.  So, in conjunction with your regular practice of proactive gratitude, try consciously noticing what you like about your body, your  talents, your brain, your abilities, the way you show up in the world, etc.   See if you can notice just one thing an hour. Or, concentrate these thoughts and notice 6 or 7 things all at once, two times a day…whatever is easiest for you.  But do this consistently.  Then, let me know how it goes for you.