Food for Thought.
I often have days where every word that goes through my head is negative.
The sun can be shining and birds singing and all I see is gray.
Then I start into the self talk that is quite critical.
Sharing this with you so you know I’m human and life is real over here. ;)
A little trick I learned while working with a thought coach was that I am in control of one thing…my thoughts.
Many days I’d rather not have this understanding so I can continue to blame the other person making me mad. Right?? Lol! It’s not me - it’s them!!! JK JK.
The simplicity of it is first to recognize when your in a funk.
Pretending to be Pollyanna all the time is damaging. The goal is to find silver lining in life, and still be real with yourself.
So I start with the first step and acknowledge facts.
Beginning with writing down the story or Circumstance.
Circumstance is fact based information. No feelings.
Example: I planned to have a picnic at the park and it began raining.
Thought comes next. What thought arises when you first thought of your circumstance.
Because it’s raining my whole day is ruined! I won’t ever be able to be happy again.
Then Feeling. When you think the thought “my whole day is ruined” what feeling comes?
I feel depressed. (There will be multiple feelings, pick one)
Action follows after. When feeling that feeling, what choices do you make? What steps are taken?
Go take a nap, binge watch tv shows, binge on ice cream, yell at loved ones, say you don’t want to plan another picnic. (There will be many actions taken. Write them all out.)
Final step is Result. What result did you end with?
Spent the whole rest of the day in a bad mood and made choices I normally wouldn’t make.
The fascinating part is applying your own circumstance to this process and see what truth tells you.
By changing your THOUGHT you change your RESULT.
Say the individual above decided to think differently.
Instead of saying “My whole day is ruined”, they could think something like this…
“Okay, this isn’t what I planned. I can be flexible.”
What possibilities open up with this new thought? Maybe switching to a fun indoor picnic?
It’s easy to see the logic in a story about a picnic. What about subjects more touchy? Still works.
When you focus on thoughts that are more hopeful, it gives room for the imagination to find solutions.
Recently I was able to practice this method with an argument I had with my spouse.
Two totally different opinions. Anyone else have this?? Haha!
I sat down and plugged in the info into my formula.
Then I wrote a new thought. This gave me different perspective.
Now. I still honored my heart. Therefore I gave myself time away from him to calm down.
And after 30 minutes the red I was seeing was gone.
I was able to see he wasn’t completely wrong and neither was I.
When it comes to health, our thoughts make a huge impact on our bodies, minds and spirits.
I love working on my own thoughts because it cannot change anyone but myself!
Leave a comment below on tips and tricks that help you honor your emotional wellbeing and bring you peace.
xoxo
