Now Available: Join The Bragg Factor Membership Portal for Exclusive Content, Live Sessions, and Member Resources.

Join Now

How Do I Control My Mindset?

May 27, 2025 | Tip for a Terrific Tuesday

You know, sometimes when we don’t feel good and don’t feel happy, we want to blame others for how we feel.

The truth is, we have to control our own happiness.

You know, you can either be a thermometer or a thermostat. The thermostat controls the environment. A thermometer just goes up and down.

So when things happen during the day, are you acting like a thermometer, or are you a thermostat, where you are controlling your environment?

All of this comes down to your mindset.

What you constantly think about will affect your personal and professional relationships. If you get up every morning, and you think about negative thoughts, then your mind is going to move toward those negative thoughts.

There is something in the brain, which is a filter, called the reticular activating system. It acts much like a water filter, and it filters out good and bad things.

You see, when we wake up in the morning, we have about 90,000 thoughts, most of which are negative.
But you have to control whether you move toward the negative or the positive with your mindset.

So it’s just like if you put dirty water in that filter or clean water in that filter.

Because what you think about is what’s going to control how the rest of your day goes.

So why not get up in the morning, look in the mirror, and at least think about the positive things that you want to do that day, so that your mind can move toward positive thoughts rather than negative ones?

And so your happiness really comes down to you and how you control your mindset.
Close your eyes and lock your mind in on those positive thoughts, and see if you can have a good day, because you are, after all, in control.

Prayers for the University of Virginia Football Players Families

Today, I'm sending my condolences and prayers to the families of the three University Virginia football players who were killed in a shooting on Sunday night. I'm also sending prayers that the two other students who were injured will recover fully. Our thoughts and...

What to do when life gets you down

Often I may ask, what do you do when life just gets you down? Well, that happens to all of us. And what I have found, and what I coach others to do, is to step away from that situation for a while and give yourself a chance to have a fresh perspective. Sometimes it's...

What does B-R-A-G-G stand for?

In my best-selling book, How to Create Your Brag Book for a Competitive Job Market, I teach you the importance of bragging. A lot of people think about bragging as being negative, but I want you to remember that Bragg using my name, B R A G G, is a five letter word,...

What you think about yourself matter

Henry Ford once said, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right." This is true. Whether you achieve your goals or whether you don't achieve them all comes down to whether you believe in yourself. The Bragg Factor teaches you how to own and...

You must unleash the power of goal setting

Before you can fully unleash the power of goal setting you must write down your goals and be clear of where you are now and where you want to go. Take time to jot down what's holding you back. But it is equally important that you decide what you want and understand...

The 4 P’s to Master Networking

A lot of people think of networking as a time when you're eating cheese and drinking a little wine or drinking a soda. But this is an important time when you lay the foundation for long term business relationships. I often say, when you're at that networking event,...

Ring Your Own Chain – A Leadership Lesson From My Dad

We don't like to brag, because bragging has a negative connotation. What is my last name? My dad always said, "If you don't ring your own chain, who's going to do it?"And my mother would say, "There your daddy is bragging about what he did." We would say, "Mom, you...

Learn How to Rise Above Self-Pity: Step Into Your Power and Live Fully

Sometimes life gets us down, and we want to have a pity party. Here are five steps that you need to change pity to power by using the word P-O-W-E-R. P - Ponder what went wrong.First, you have to think about the "P" in the word power.Ponder what went wrong — what has...

Tell Your Loved Ones How Much You Care

As we enter the Thanksgiving holiday season, remember to take time to show gratitude to those who you love. When is the last time you actually told your loved one, how much they mean to you? How much you appreciate them? Relationships are at the heart of every...

Why You Should Count Your Blessings

I want you to think during these holiday seasons, the importance of just counting your blessings. Sometimes we don't think that we have things to be grateful for. Earlier I was in the airport, and yes, I was complaining about the long security lines, and a lady...

How to Start Believing in Yourself

Are you reaching your goals? What are you doing in the morning when you wake up? It is important to look in that mirror and to believe in the person that you see and to tell that person when you get up in the morning that you can accomplish your goals. Write down your...

How to Train Your Brain and Have a Good Day!

I'm excited today to be at the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, talking about my new book, Dreams Without Goals Are Nightmares: How to Use the Bragg Factor to Reach Your Goals in Record Time. You know, it is important for you to reach your goals in record time to...

Millionaires Have This Habit In Common

When I've studied people who have been more successful millionaires and billionaires, one of the common things that I've found out about them is that they have a morning routine. They do the same thing every morning — getting up in the morning, thinking about their...

Find Out Who You Are and Do it On Purpose

We often waste time worrying about what others think of us. But we really need to concentrate on who we want to be. I encourage you to follow the words of Dolly Parton who said, "Find out who you are and do it on purpose." When you do you every day, you will instill...

How to Get Redemption After a Setback

I hope you've had the opportunity to watch the Olympics as I have. This week, I've learned of many inspirational stories, but two stories that I find very powerful and inspirational are the stories of Suni Lee, a young woman who had a physical condition, and Simone...

How to Fake It Till You Make It

Hi, this is Dr. Bragg from the brag factor.com with a tip for a Terrific Tuesday. I think it is very important for you to behave as if. For instance, when my mother told me when I was in that chemistry class, you just act like this is the Winford Bragg show. So I had...

Sending You Much Gratitude

I want you to know that I sincerely appreciate you following my blog over the past year. And during this season of gratitude, I wanted to take the time to express my appreciation to each of you for following my tips. I look forward to having you commenting throughout...

Constantly Acknowledge Your Wins

All of us have had setbacks and disappointments and some failures in our life. When we were a child, sometimes when we did things that weren’t right, they were met with great emotional intensity when we made an error or mistake, more so than some of our successes. As...

How to Turn Failure Into a Success

No one likes to fail. I know I don't. But there are some good things that we can learn from failure that will allow us to fail forward. In fact, successful people study their failures so that they can take what they learned from them to move forward. Because if we are...