{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"speaker":"Sparky and Shell  0","startTime":10.0,"endTime":13.0,"body":"17"},{"speaker":"Sparky and Shell  0","startTime":14.0,"endTime":17.0,"body":"Welcome to don't think your weekly dose of positivity. We're your hosts Sparky and shell. Join us each week as we have changed your habits to tackle fears and challenge your mindset. Let's get to it."},{"speaker":"Shell  0","startTime":18.0,"endTime":21.0,"body":"32"},{"speaker":"Shell  0","startTime":22.0,"endTime":25.0,"body":"Hello everyone and welcome to episode 10 of a dopamine kick."},{"speaker":"Sparky  0","startTime":26.0,"endTime":29.0,"body":"37"},{"speaker":"Sparky  0","startTime":30.0,"endTime":33.0,"body":"I can't believe we're on episode 10 already. It just feels like yesterday since we started this podcast."},{"speaker":"Shell  0","startTime":34.0,"endTime":37.0,"body":"44"},{"speaker":"Shell  0","startTime":38.0,"endTime":41.0,"body":"It really does and I have been so excited about this episode this episode is I think gonna be one of my favourites so it's a really happy episode today on how to make a conscious decision to increase your level of positive thoughts."},{"speaker":"Sparky  0","startTime":42.0,"endTime":45.0,"body":"58"},{"speaker":"Sparky  0","startTime":46.0,"endTime":49.0,"body":"I just want to point out here that we're talking about positive thoughts in general we're not saying that if you're having a terrible experience in your life that you just need to think positive thoughts and everything will be okay we know that's a process but in this episode, we're just talking about HMO, how day to day positive thoughts can really increase your level of positivity overall."},{"speaker":"Shell  1","startTime":50.0,"endTime":53.0,"body":"18"},{"speaker":"Shell  1","startTime":54.0,"endTime":57.0,"body":"So last time we discussed that on average 80% of our thoughts are negative, and it's just not a good environment for us to thrive in. So we wanted to do an episode specifically dedicated to how we can change this and how we can manage our internal dialogue so it's a lot more positive. I'm going to start off with a little science a bit first, as always, so we'll link to this in the show notes. This is a review of lots of experimental studies and it supports the evidence that positive thinking increases your ability to deal with stressors effectively and causes many successful health outcomes as well. So with that in mind with the science behind this, let's talk about how to increase your positive"},{"speaker":"Sparky  1","startTime":58.0,"endTime":61.0,"body":"58"},{"speaker":"Sparky  1","startTime":62.0,"endTime":65.0,"body":"thoughts. So the first one is we're going to start with this is something that you know, I've grown to love is starting with small goals."},{"speaker":"Shell  2","startTime":66.0,"endTime":69.0,"body":"06"},{"speaker":"Shell  2","startTime":70.0,"endTime":73.0,"body":"Yes, yes. Rocky, SMART goals. SMART goals, and do I bring you out? Yeah,"},{"speaker":"Sparky  2","startTime":74.0,"endTime":77.0,"body":"13"},{"speaker":"Sparky  2","startTime":78.0,"endTime":81.0,"body":"I know. We're 10 episodes and I've realised that you know, SMART goals actually account for a lot of the things that we've been saying how to deal with so I guess I should actually start thinking about them a bit more"},{"speaker":"Shell  2","startTime":82.0,"endTime":85.0,"body":"24"},{"speaker":"Shell  2","startTime":86.0,"endTime":89.0,"body":"smart goals are great for positive thinking, because they're an objective way to assess your success, and also to measure your failures as well. But it's important to note that your brain has a tendency to focus on failure. Going back to what we always talk about our sort of primitive brain surviving in the wild, focusing on failure and learning from your mistakes, how we stayed alive. So your brain is always going to hone in on that. But actually what we want to do is train our brain to look at how far we've come and the successes that we have achieved."},{"speaker":"Sparky  2","startTime":90.0,"endTime":93.0,"body":"54"},{"speaker":"Sparky  2","startTime":94.0,"endTime":97.0,"body":"Yes, I completely agree with that. And that's why I think that smart goals are really, really good way to start with trying to be a little bit more positive in your daily life. The next one is to combat negative self talk. Now, we touched on this last week, that 80% of our thoughts are negative on average. So the best thing to do here is notice when these occur, do you have any triggers, for example, I have a trigger. I don't anymore because I've worked on this, but I had a trigger where every time I looked in the mirror, I used to hate the way my teeth looked. And that was a trigger for me. I look in the mirror and I've noticed my teeth and I think oh, how awful do they look? So do you do the same thing do you look in the mirror and criticise yourself? Do you criticise how a toilet that you look? It could be for example, you don't even realise that you're doing it. You're going to brush your teeth in the morning and there's a mirror in front of you. And those thoughts can just pop in. So can you turn that negative self talk around? Are there things about your appearance that you actually do like can you find the things about your appearance that you're happy with"},{"speaker":"Shell  3","startTime":98.0,"endTime":101.0,"body":"53"},{"speaker":"Shell  3","startTime":102.0,"endTime":105.0,"body":"and this is something that I definitely I still do sometimes I really have to catch myself first thing in the morning and it does tend to be usually when I'm brushing my teeth because that's the real amount of time I spend in the mirror in the morning because I'm usually in such a rush and ready to do everything. But I definitely got into the habit of every time I close the bathroom cabinet, start brushing my teeth, looking at myself and being like, Oh God, you look so tired again today. And it's just a little throwaway comment in your mind but it does does have a real impact then because you start your day off thinking that you look bad and everyone's gonna judge you because you look bad. And actually, it's so unnecessary. So the way that I've tried to do with that is by using positive affirmations, which is our next point. positive affirmations are so powerful for increasing your positive thoughts generally, it's about consciously making the effort to repeat certain phrases or quotes act to yourself to sort of remind yourself and to train your brain to think in that manner. And I am a huge fan of Marissa Pierre and her I am enough movement. So we'll talk about that a little bit more later in the show. But it's basically what exactly what it sounds like. So it's about confirming that you are enough. And she talks about how a lot of the clients that she sees so she's a professional therapist, and one of the clients that she sees, actually the root of a lot of problems that she sees are people feeling that they aren't enough and the different ways that they seek to validate themselves."},{"speaker":"Sparky  5","startTime":106.0,"endTime":109.0,"body":"23"},{"speaker":"Sparky  5","startTime":110.0,"endTime":113.0,"body":"And the next point is to make time for happiness every single day. So we touched on this in our pursuit of happiness episode. And that was basically just saying, don't wait for life events to make you happy. You need to start seizing the small amounts of happiness that you have every single day because at the end of the day, life is about the journey and not about the destination. And if you want to listen some more on this particular subject, go back and listen to that episode I think is episode number eight, because it really helps you find ways to find joy in your everyday"},{"speaker":"Shell  5","startTime":114.0,"endTime":117.0,"body":"53"},{"speaker":"Shell  5","startTime":118.0,"endTime":121.0,"body":"life. So another way to increase the average amount of positive thoughts that you have is to think about who you spend your time with. So Jim Rohn, who was really influential motivational speaker, when said we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. So have a real thing Who are your average? Are you surrounding yourself with people who will lift you up and help you succeed? Or are you surrounding yourself with negative people who are feeding into your own negativity and bringing you down at the same time?"},{"speaker":"Sparky  6","startTime":122.0,"endTime":125.0,"body":"22"},{"speaker":"Sparky  6","startTime":126.0,"endTime":129.0,"body":"The next point is gratitude and giving back and giving back to other people can make you feel so much better. Lots of studies have shown that when people give back and they show empathy for others, it increases their happy hormone, which in turn can make you feel a lot more positive just by doing that. I mean, I find that when I do something that helps other people. I feel a lot more positive. It helps me sleep at night. It helps me feel better about myself. It makes me feel feel more positive about the world around me because I feel like I'm giving something back to the world. So you feel like you're getting a dopamine kick or do I feel like I'm getting a dopamine kick?"},{"speaker":"Shell  6","startTime":130.0,"endTime":133.0,"body":"57"},{"speaker":"Shell  6","startTime":134.0,"endTime":137.0,"body":"Okay, so I'm gonna put you on the spot. Now, Sparky, this is not something we've planned in advance. But I thought it would be really good because sometimes it's hard to think about your positives yourself. It's not something that we're trying to do especially with, you know, both of us being British, we tend to downplay everything. But your friends, as you've touched on, your friends can often see things in you that you can't say I thought it'd be really nice if we both listed three things that are really positive. Right, right now on the spot. Three things that you love about me."},{"speaker":"Sparky  7","startTime":138.0,"endTime":141.0,"body":"29"},{"speaker":"Sparky  7","startTime":142.0,"endTime":145.0,"body":"The first thing is I love that no one can stop you like the fact that you just whatever it is that you want. And it doesn't matter what anyone says you don't care how you look, you don't care if it comes across dramatic. You just love it and you just go for it. And I think that's really inspiring as I said in another episode. And the second thing is I think that you've taught me so much just in general not just about life and just being friends, but in the sense of you're just so knowledgeable in what you know. And when we used to work together like you used to inspire me. I mean, I I wanted to be a vet because of you I mean I didn't but the fact that you are such an inspiring person in that way that you told me so much. I can come away from that now and think I know this because I was taught that in a way that I understood it. And I think that that's a really really good quality to have. And the last thing is I think that you've just got the best smile out of everybody that I know when you smile when you laugh. You just beam just glow and I think that that makes a bigger impact on other people than you actually realise."},{"speaker":"Shell  8","startTime":146.0,"endTime":149.0,"body":"33"},{"speaker":"Shell  8","startTime":150.0,"endTime":153.0,"body":"That's so nice. I'm so glad we did this. I was a little bit teary at that. I just need these a couple of seconds just smile on my face. I love it. Okay, my turn now."},{"speaker":"Sparky  8","startTime":154.0,"endTime":157.0,"body":"46"},{"speaker":"Sparky  8","startTime":158.0,"endTime":161.0,"body":"Oh no,"},{"speaker":"Shell  8","startTime":162.0,"endTime":165.0,"body":"47"},{"speaker":"Shell  8","startTime":166.0,"endTime":169.0,"body":"I should have probably thought I knew that I was gonna say this. So I should have planned this in advance should know this. This is this is on me this is okay, so the first thing we have to say is I love how just absolutely random and chaotic you are. I think I've touched on this on previous episodes, but I just never know what you're going to say next. And I love that like I just love like the positive energy that you bring to any any room that you're in. And I think a lot of that stems"},{"speaker":"Sparky  9","startTime":170.0,"endTime":173.0,"body":"15"},{"speaker":"Sparky  9","startTime":174.0,"endTime":177.0,"body":"from that don't know what's gonna come out of my mouth next because he's embarrassing most of the time. That's basically"},{"speaker":"Shell  9","startTime":178.0,"endTime":181.0,"body":"20"},{"speaker":"Shell  9","startTime":182.0,"endTime":185.0,"body":"why it's just, it's just so random. keeps you on your toes. You know, you can't switch off when you're in a conversation with you because, you know one moment you could be talking about one thing and if your attention drifts and all of a sudden you're talking about something completely different."},{"speaker":"Sparky  9","startTime":186.0,"endTime":189.0,"body":"35"},{"speaker":"Sparky  9","startTime":190.0,"endTime":193.0,"body":"It's not like a disorder No, I love it."},{"speaker":"Shell  9","startTime":194.0,"endTime":197.0,"body":"41"},{"speaker":"Shell  9","startTime":198.0,"endTime":201.0,"body":"I love it. I think the second thing is I love how kind and compassionate you are. This is something that not many people know so I don't know if you're going to be okay. With me saying this, but I'm going to say anyway. So Sparky is actually the godfather to my daughter. Due to the pandemic. It was something that was arranged really, really last minute. I think we have a couple of days notice in which we could do the ceremony. And Sparky couldn't get the time off work, because it was on Father's Day. So he actually quit his job so that he could be there so he could be there for me and my daughter and take his place with her godfather. And that meant so so much to me. And I think it just really shows what a kind and caring person you are and also a little bit crazy, fair job."},{"speaker":"Sparky  10","startTime":202.0,"endTime":205.0,"body":"32"},{"speaker":"Sparky  10","startTime":206.0,"endTime":209.0,"body":"Because you're gonna make me well okay, and this is about positive. But I like I like the idea of it being crazy. So we'll keep it the crazy just for the sake of being modest."},{"speaker":"Shell  10","startTime":210.0,"endTime":213.0,"body":"42"},{"speaker":"Shell  10","startTime":214.0,"endTime":217.0,"body":"And then I would say the final thing it's difficult for me to narrow down three, there's so many things that I could say but I'm gonna say the final thing that I really enjoy is I think you're just really funny, like naturally funny. You don't have to try most of the time. You don't really realise that you're what you said. It's funny, which is the best part really because I'll be giggling away and you'll have no idea why. But it just makes you really fun to be around means that you're you're really good company. And you always make me smile lots and I feel better when I'm around you and I've had a conversation with you. Definitely you're a really positive influence on my life."},{"speaker":"Sparky  11","startTime":218.0,"endTime":221.0,"body":"16"},{"speaker":"Sparky  11","startTime":222.0,"endTime":225.0,"body":"Oh gosh. Well, do you know you are the reason that I am smiling today."},{"speaker":"Shell  11","startTime":226.0,"endTime":229.0,"body":"23"},{"speaker":"Shell  11","startTime":230.0,"endTime":233.0,"body":"I love this people are gonna assume that we're together. Seriously. It's so true. It's all true."},{"speaker":"Sparky  11","startTime":234.0,"endTime":237.0,"body":"31"},{"speaker":"Sparky  11","startTime":238.0,"endTime":241.0,"body":"It's really easy. It's all true is great. Okay, so the next one that I've got here is to think about your worldview and why you actually have these negative thoughts. What made you actually think that way, recognise that if somebody has made you feel this way, that was their belief and not yours. And I know that this can be really, really hard to do, especially when these thoughts have been stuck in your mind for a long period of time. But it's important that as we get older and as we're adults, we start realising that the negative stories that other people may have told us about ourselves are not a reflection of who we are now. So even though those people might have believed it, that's their story of you and it's not"},{"speaker":"Shell  12","startTime":242.0,"endTime":245.0,"body":"08"},{"speaker":"Shell  12","startTime":246.0,"endTime":249.0,"body":"yours. It's important to remember to take care of yourself. It's really difficult to stay positive when you're exhausted and you don't feel very well make sure you're not putting everybody else first at the expense of your health. So the four big ones for me here are diet, hydration, exercise and sleep. So watch your diet. I'm not saying you can never have another slice of pizza again. But make sure that junk food isn't playing too much of a role in your diet because that is going to make you feel low and sluggish. Make sure you're drinking enough. I know that can be difficult sometimes but but make a real conscious effort to make sure that you're staying hydrated. Exercise or at least be moving your body every day. It doesn't have to be a two hour workout in the gym. It can be just something as simple as going for a walk but it will make a big difference. And try to make sure you're getting enough sleep as well. So the final one that we've got is to recognise your accomplishments and the successes that you already have. Now, this can either be something that you formally write down as a list, or it can just be something that you keep in your mind. You will be good at something it may not be what you're currently striving for. But there will be positive attributes about you about your appearance about your personality, for example, a kind do you have a great smile? Are you really good at communication, make a mental note or a physical note of the positive attributes and successes that you do have and refer back to them when you're feeling negative. So that's"},{"speaker":"Sparky  13","startTime":250.0,"endTime":253.0,"body":"30"},{"speaker":"Sparky  13","startTime":254.0,"endTime":257.0,"body":"everything for this week, guys on that front, but we've just got time for our little kicker. And this week, our little kicker is going to be focused around Marissa Pierre and the I am"},{"speaker":"Shell  13","startTime":258.0,"endTime":261.0,"body":"39"},{"speaker":"Shell  13","startTime":262.0,"endTime":265.0,"body":"enough movements. So as I touched on earlier, this movement is all about recognising that you are enough. And Marissa has a really awesome free guided meditation that will link to in the show notes. And that's going to be our little kicker for this week. So I know I've said previously that meditation is something that I struggle with. So it's a bit random that I'd be recommending a meditation, but I would say this meditation is different to anything that I've ever come across before. So it's a little bit more sort of active, that it's not about sort of quiet and in your mind. It's about instructing your mind. And she guides you through that really well. I mean, her voice is so hypnotic Anyway, she's just fabulous to listen to listen to her all day. Be I'd really, really encourage you to check that out. It's totally free. You just pop your email in you get sent it straight away. It's half an hour it's well well worth your time."},{"speaker":"Sparky  14","startTime":266.0,"endTime":269.0,"body":"31"},{"speaker":"Sparky  14","startTime":270.0,"endTime":273.0,"body":"All right, that's everything this week, guys, but if you want to carry on with the conversation just on our social media platforms, we're on all the major channels and our handle is."},{"speaker":"Shell  14","startTime":274.0,"endTime":277.0,"body":"41"},{"speaker":"Shell  14","startTime":278.0,"endTime":281.0,"body":"We'd also be super grateful if you could leave us a review on the podcast wherever you're listening, because it helps us to grow our audience and help our people. Okay, we'll see you in the next one. Bye bye"},{"speaker":"Transcribed by https","startTime":282.0,"endTime":300.0,"body":"//otter.ai"}]}