Towards the end of last year I was reminded of the importance of language.

I got up early one Saturday morning for a session with my personal trainer. I had packed my bag the night before and left my trainers by the front door.

Before I went to bed on Friday night, I said 'I mustn't forget my trainers'. When I woke up in the morning, I said to myself 'I mustn't forget my trainers' and when I went into the kitchen, I found my housemate's girlfriend making a cup of tea, and said... 'I mustn't forget my trainers' not once, but at least 3 times. Surprise, surprise, I then left the house without my trainers and had to do my workout in just socks!

Now, this may just sound like careless behaviour to you, but there is a much more interesting explanation. The unconscious mind - the part of your brain that does all the things you don't have to consciously think about, such as pumping your heart and regenerating your cells, cannot tell the difference between a positive and a negative. 'Do not forget' therefore becomes 'Do forget'!

So, if I say 'Do not think of a purple pig', It becomes impossible to get the purple pig out of your mind.

The reason I am sharing this with you is because thoughts become things. I think it is time that we had more healthy life-enriching thoughts, don't you?