Sharon Blake - The Thought Detox: Breaking Free From A Negative Thought Life

I decided to write this book based on my own personal experience. In my first book Chronicles of Pain, I gave my readers an inside view of my past to show how I made it to where I am today. I once would always do what I was taught or raised to do. I never put forth much brainpower into pondering on the whys of my actions and decisions. One day after carefully examining where I was in life, I decided something was wrong with the way I perceived myself and the things around me. My negative mindset led me to make the wrong choices. From the people I allowed into my life, to the places I decided to visit. Everyone I knew, including myself, seemed angry and confused for no reason at all. We had no sense of profound direction. We all simply existed. I began to look at myself and the company I kept. The more wrong I saw, the more I knew I would need divine intervention and direction to make necessary changes. I began to pray and beg God to show me what I needed to do to change my life. I was tired of settling for good enough when in my heart of hearts I knew I deserved the best. God revealed to me that it was my mindset that needed to change. I realized my life had been orchestrated in such a way to lead me to the point where I needed to search for the truth outside of what I believed. I soon learned how everything I had been through- the good, the bad and the ugly, had a purpose. When I began to allow myself to believe there could be more to my life than what I knew, doors of opportunities opened before me.

Since then, I have learned a great deal about myself and the way I once operated my life. Living my life without a true purpose caused me to end up in the same horrible situations time and time again. I was in the same broken, dysfunctional relationships and I was tired of merry go round results. I finally screamed to my inner conscience to Let me off! I was over spinning my wheels without getting to a destination. It was time for me to deal with me.

I had to ask myself two questions, Who am I and Who gave me the idea I had to be what I had become? I was always searching for something or someone else to fulfill me. I found out the person I had become had been molded by what I believed and the things I was taught to believe. Once I started to uncover those hidden beliefs and ways of thinking, I figured out where I needed to focus my attention. As I began piecing together the puzzle of my life, I realized there was so much work I needed to get done. This process allowed me to see and accept both the ugly and beautiful sides of me.

Throughout this book, we will learn how to identify toxic emotions and thoughts that may be limiting us from reaching our fullest potentials. Toxic thoughts are what I consider to be unlawful thoughts, meaning they are not permitted to exist in us or around us. These negative ways of thinking must be restrained, removed, and replaced with new more positive thoughts.

As this book progresses, we will learn how to identify the thoughts and emotions that cause us to view our lives, and ourselves as less than great. We will also learn what types of thoughts we must produce in order to make ourselves better. I have included questions inside a few of the chapters that I want you to answer in your own personal journal (they are italicized). As you are writing your response, pay close attention to what it is you are feeling. After you have recognized how you feel, write about other experiences that have made you feel the same way. It is important to get to the root of the negative thought processes that keep occurring in your mind. This process will not happen overnight but change can and will occur if you are willing to dig deep within yourself and put forth the work required to begin making a difference.