I have been in situations where the heavy weight of circumstances and life just feels too much to carry. I have looked around in those moments in desperate frustration, believing that there was nothing I could do to change my situation. I have broken down and cried. I have screamed at the top of my lungs out of sheer desperation ( very therapeutic by the way) and I have felt the pangs of both panic and anxiety.
I have experienced my fair share of “ waking up on the wrong side of the bed” and set tone for my day with stunning my toe, spilling my coffee and burning my toast. It was always followed by my gas tank being empty, getting every red light on my route and being late for work. Then maybe a bit later in my day, I’d loose my house keys, my kids used an inappropriate word in front of the priest, the toilet over flows and the dog escape. ( insert therapeutic scream here)
In the midst of one of these bad days… the wrong side of the bed days, I have also been given a compliment or received a smile from a person walking by. Perhaps I see a cute baby or a friendly puppy or maybe a teenager giving up their seat to an elderly gentleman at the bench in the park. And in that moment I realize that the world and my life is not all that bad. I consider the fact that we may not ever know how our actions and words affect the world around us. If my day can be changed by a smile and a puppy, then maybe I can change someone else’s day with a compliment or an act of kindness and respect.
Then my brain starts braining and I realize…I can change my life on my own thoughts and actions. I can smile at myself, give myself a kind word or six. I can take a walk to look for a cute puppy and I can hold the door open for a stranger. I can strike up a conversation in the grocery store line up, I can give the cashier a sincere compliment and with her a fabulous day.
And then I can be open to thinking about that life circumstance from a different perspective. I can look forward towards the positive. Ya, maybe I am little pudgy, but my body is healthy enough to be able to exercise. Ya, maybe my house is a mess, but I have a house. Ya, maybe I would like to have more money, but I have skills that I can use to make more.
This is where my power lies. It lies in my own thoughts and actions. Right when I wake up from my bed, I get to decide on what side I am on. Now that does not mean that difficult circumstances are going to vanish because I didn’t stub my toes. However, it does mean that I get to choose where I am going to invest my thoughts. It means I can look at the world around me and seek to understand what I can control and what is out of my hands.
I can feel empowered by what is mine to control and I. Can feel relieved about what is not in my control.
My world will change by using my thoughts to guide where I am willing to spend my energy.if my thoughts are positive, I will change my day and the day of someone else.
Did you know that thoughts are formed out of habits… that at a young age we are taught what to think about ourselves and the work around us, from the opinions of others. Sadly, as human beings usually hold onto the negative thoughts and opinions that others have expressed. I don’t know why we do, but we do.
Turn this around by retraining your thoughts. You and you alone have control over your thoughts. This is your power. Sometimes it is a bit tough to retrain your thoughts and beliefs… but like so many who train, all you need is a COACH.
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