Do you remember a time when someone disrespected you... and you got upset... and you just could not shift that feeling? Then something else happened that upset you even more and the day was not as productive as you would have liked. Or you had a disagreement with a co-worker, spouse or child and you could not focus on anything else.
You kept replaying that conversation in your mind. The more you thought of it, the more upset you got. Before you knew, hours had passed and you were not able to do the things you were meant to, which upset you further. It created a vicious cycle. That used to happen to me quite often, until I started practicing the 17-second rule.
What is the 17second rule?
When you are in a negative state of mind, give yourself under 17 seconds to-
Acknowledge how you are feeling
Accept what happened was not right and
Decide to let it go
Remind yourself that holding on to negativity is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone. Who gets burnt first? Decide to shift your focus on all the good things in your life instead of that one incident and you may notice that you have a much better day.
I heard about the 17-second rule from Oprah. She was asked how she controls her thoughts and that negative inner voice that we all have. Oprah quoted the works of Abraham Hicks, which states that if you hold a thought for 17 seconds it reaches combustion point and becomes powerful. If you continue to hold it in multiples of 17, it grows exponentially. Now Abraham was recommending this for positive, pure thoughts without any contradictions. According to Hicks, this is how the law of attraction works. When you align your energies with the energies that create worlds, when you are no longer contradicting at your core, amazing things happen. This is how we manifest what we think about. In the same way, when we hold on to a negative thought for 17 seconds it attracts more negativity into our life.
I was surprised when I started noticing my thoughts. I realized that I was holding on to negative thoughts for far longer than I was holding on to positive ones. I decided to take action and change my thoughts and it changed my life. Here is what a client had to say about the 17-second rule, “Some things we hear and read have the potential to change our lives. Practicing the 17-second rule saves me from unnecessary anxiety and in turn saves my family from all the floating negativity. Thank you Charmaine for introducing me to 17-second rule.” I invite you to be curious about your thoughts. Notice the thoughts you hold on to for more than 17 seconds.
You could also use 17-second rule to attract what you want in your life. Choose one pure thought without any contradiction, start with something small, and focus on it for 17 x 4 = 68 seconds (the longer you hold it, the stronger the power of attraction becomes). Hicks encourages you to try it out with something as simple as thinking of blue glass or butterflies and see it manifest. I use it for attracting new clients or business opportunities, getting someone to return my call and in many other ways.
The 17-second rule works and you could experience it too, Think of how amazing you will feel when you attract all the things that you want in your life. That’s right.