As you wake up each day, thoughts from your subconscious mind begin to filter into your conscious mind. Examples of subconscious thoughts that may filter into your conscious mind when your alarm goes off in the mourning are; Wake up; You are still tired, go back to bed; Turn the shower on; Skip the shower, I’m tired; I just got a great night's sleep; I feel like crap; I feel great; That dream was weird; That dream was cool; Ugh, I have work today, Yes, I’m going to make money today, Be happy today, or It’s too early to be happy. Subconscious thoughts like these pop up uncontrollably. Although they pop up uncontrollably, we were actually the ones who programmed our subconscious in the first place, and we have the power to change the thoughts that rattle around in our subconscious mind.

Our subconscious minds are programmed by our actions, and by the thoughts that we most often entertain. Since a large part of our subconscious is programmed by our conscious minds, I believe that you can re-program your subconscious mind to align more closely with how you want to think by changing your thinking and changing your actions.

Three techniques to program your subconscious mind to be positive are positive self-talk, commitment to stopping, rejecting, correcting irrational negative thoughts, and practicing balanced thinking. Practicing positive self-talk will help you raise your self-esteem, significantly, and help you to focus on your strengths rather than flaws and weaknesses.

Secondly, one must commit oneself to blocking out negative rational thoughts in order to positively program one's subconscious mind. This means that one must not let one's mind wander in a negative direction.

Thirdly, one must practice balanced thinking. This means that when thinking of an idea or action, one must equally weigh the positives and negatives and avoid catastrophizing situations.

On the other hand, a negative mindset develops when you let negative irrational thoughts run wild in your mind and you begin to feel sorry for yourself. The great author and speaker, Dale Carnegie, once said, “Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy, but the worst habit you could possibly have.” When you let negative thoughts run wild in mind, you begin to think irrationally, catastrophize situations, and you create a negative self image in your mind. All these negative thoughts and self pity can even lead to depression.

Why is programming your subconscious mind so important? Because your mind controls your life. If you negatively program your mind, then you will have a negative outlook on life. If you have a negative outlook on everything then you will most likely feel bad, sad, negative, or maybe even depressed. These feelings of sadness will lead to negative, lethargic, and unproductive actions. And when you act in a lethargic and unproductive way, you surely will not be happy.

On the other hand, if you positively program your mind, then you will have a positive outlook on life. If you have a positive outlook on life, then you will most likely feel good, happy, and positive. If you feel good, happy, and positive, you will most likely be productive and energetic and partake in the actions and activities that you deeply desire. When you partake in the actions and activities that you deeply desire you are much more likely to be happy in the end.

In conclusion, your life starts with how you program your subconscious mind. The beauty of your mind is that you have the capability to master it if you choose. Just remember; thoughts affect feelings, feelings affect actions, and actions determine happiness.