In typical David Letterman fashion, I present for you the top ten ways to improve the life you live. The difference between Letterman’s top tens and mine are that these are serious, not frivolous. And they are particularly applicable to those who are in the process of transforming—physically, mentally, spiritually—or all of them! These are all not only important but critical for the process you are involved in.

10. STOP creating your own bad news! Most people are absolutely unaware that they are doing this when they are, but recognizing the process may just by itself allow you to control this negative character trait.

Those who create their own bad news do it in two common ways. They either habitually think negative thoughts, or they habitually engage in self pity or envy, often at the same time. Negative thoughts that are especially crippling are those that deal with your own natural abilities and gifts, and those that deal with what others are doing. In the transformation business, the most common self-directed negative thought is “This will probably not work for me—I’ve never been able to find a diet and exercise program that works.” Another very common negative thought is about others: “I wonder if those pictures are real? I wonder if they really got those results like they said they did, and I REALLY wonder if they did it just 12 weeks?” Can’t you hear the envy practically dripping from that last sentence?

How do I know these thoughts are that common? They are expressed nearly daily on the Body For Life guestbook by newcomers to the programs and they are veiled in many of the questions that newcomers ask as well.

So why are these types of thoughts so self-destructive? It’s precisely because of what the title of this blog implies—they actually act upon us just like we had received some really bad news from outside sources. You experience the same emotions and the same hormonal effects in your body as though you had really failed, just by thinking that thought. And when you start thinking negative thoughts about others, even others you don’t know, you begin to experience the same negative reactions in your body as though it really happened that someone won the contest by committing fraud and kept you from winning!

This character flaw is as old as mankind, and so common that it is even the subject of Proverbs in the Bible! One Proverb says simply, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Other scriptures also point out that from these thoughts spring many other evils. The book of James says if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts you should not boast about it or deny the truth, and that where there is envy and selfish ambition there is disorder and hatred and evil practices.

How, then, do you avoid destructive thoughts that become bad news for you? First of all, a daily “heart check” is a good idea. By that I mean reviewing the day at its end to see if any such thoughts or envious practices crept into your life, and if so, to write them down. Next, make your purpose to do better the next day—even to make amends if you did anything destructive toward another. Then, make sure that you regularly do something to benefit another who has no capacity to pay you back. I am talking about real acts of charity, not just paying for the coffee of the guy behind you! I’m talking about giving to those in need, or quietly helping another without anyone knowing it. These acts by themselves will go a long way toward keeping your heart in the right place—and keeping bad news from coming to your mind or your door!