Do I want to change the situation or do I want to feel better now?
Sometimes, when things aren't going our way, when life is throwing us curve balls, resistance comes up. We try fight the circumstances. Yet most often these circumstances are out of our control. We complain about the corruption in the government, taxes, regulations and rising fuel prices, as if we can change them. We argue with people, partners, parents, children or siblings, as if we can change them. We battle with the past, as if we can change it. As Byron Katie, author of "Loving What Is" is fond of saying: "Arguing with reality is like trying to teach a cat to bark—hopeless." What can we change? Our thoughts, our feelings, our attitude, our focus, ourselves, and our habits. When we were worried about something, my Gran always used to say: "think happy thoughts". Gran's are wise like that. A study conducted at Stanford University found that 90% of the 60,000+ thoughts we have each day are repetitive thoughts - the same thoughts you had yesterday and the day before that. And if your life is not going the way you had hoped, you can bet that most of those thoughts are negative rather than positive. Yet, if we choose, we can consciously, mindfully change negative thoughts to positive ones simply by changing our focus from negative to positive. The easiest ways I know how to do this are: 🌟 Counting my blessings 🙌 (gratitude) 🌟 Asking empowering questions (reframing) 🌟 Doing PQ Reps (Positive Intelligence) 🌟 Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping) 🌟 Self Hypnosis / Meditation / Prayer 🧘♀️ 🌟 Giving or receiving an Access Bars session 🌟 Being out in nature 🌟 Exercising (walking, dancing, swimming) 🌟 Journalling ✍️ We can switch from the habit of complaining to the habit of gratitude and appreciation. We can switch out meaningless questioning for meaningful questioning. We can focus on what is right about our lives, our loved ones, our world, instead of what's wrong. When journalling, think about your positive qualities. What was great about your childhood? What do you love about life? Who have been your greatest influences?