18,000

Here are two factoids for your consideration…

1. I read last week that the average American, maybe not you, but most of us. The average American is exposed to 360 advertisements every day. Assuming the people who design these ads know what they are doing, these ads are leveraging something in us or in our culture. They are designed to reflect something of who and how we think we should be and to ignite or to reinforce a sense of longing or inadequacy or need. So every hour we are awake, we are told 22 times that we are not rich, thin, young, beautiful, ripped or stylish enough.
2. It requires 50 positive comments to balance out every negative comment we hear. (I heard this years ago at a conference for professionals who worked with children and youth, but it probably applies to the rest of us as well.)

Assuming that the impact of the 360 advertisements we are exposed to is more negative than positive, and putting the above two observations together, it requires 18,000 positive messages each day to balance out the impact of the advertisements we see, hear and read.

18,000!!!

While 18.000 positive messages each day may seem a bit overwhelming, let me suggest you begin with this. Each day for the next week stop and intentionally say Thank you for 10 things. Just 10. But pause long enough to really pay attention to what you are seeing and saying and doing. At the end of the week, let me know what, if any, difference it made.