CHOICES WE MAKE
We have a choice either we can think about what is going wrong in our lives or think about what is going right in our lives. I have found that most of the times our minds make the choice for us. This morning as I was waking up my mind started thinking about an upsetting situation which made me feel bad and took all my energy. After thinking about it for awhile I realized either I could role play this situation in my head or think about something that puts a smile on my face. Making the choice to change my thinking took awhile and slowly my thoughts started to change.
Why do we automatically start thinking about upsetting thoughts instead of happy ones? Thinking about this for awhile I came up with the following ideas:
Benefits of Thinking Upsetting Thoughts
1. Familiar feeling.
2. Not having control over the outcome of the situation we start thinking of ways in which we are the controllers.
3. Feels good to feel sorry for ourselves.
4. Gives us an excuse to procrastinate.
5. Looking for sympathy from others.
Benefits of Thinking Happy Thoughts
1. Makes us feel good and gives us plenty of energy.
2. Motivates us.
3. Puts a smile on our face.
4. Self-confidence and we feel proud.
5. Creates commitment
We have a choice either we can walk around feeling good or trying to think of ways to change a situation that has already happened. For today which choice do you make? I know that thinking happy thoughts will give me more energy, motivation and put a smile on my face. The next question how do you change those thoughts. Following are some ideas:
1. Acknowledge the thought and when the thought stops start thinking about something that made you happy.
2. While thinking the unhappy thought give yourself a big hug and say out loud, “I feel sorry for you and I love you.” Giving ourselves sympathy sometimes makes us feel better.
3. Journal about the situation and think of ways you can let go of the negative thoughts.
4. Put a smile on your face while you are thinking and usually the negative thought will disappear.
5. For today, don’t talk about your unhappy thoughts only what makes you happy.
Have a beautiful day and make a choice to think happy thoughts.
Showing posts with label attitudes create your day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label attitudes create your day. Show all posts
Friday, December 14, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Different Perspectives on Situations
I received the story below as an email this morning and felt you would enjoy reading it.
The Difference Between Rich/Poor People
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be
considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the
trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what you learned from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered:
"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a
creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond
our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to
protect them."
The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen
if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what
we don't have.
Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!
Pass this on to friends and acquaintances and help them refresh their
perspective and appreciation.
"Life is too short and friends are too few."
I would love to hear your thoughts on the story above. You can leave a comment on this blog or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net
The Difference Between Rich/Poor People
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be
considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the
trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what you learned from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered:
"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a
creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond
our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to
protect them."
The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen
if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what
we don't have.
Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!
Pass this on to friends and acquaintances and help them refresh their
perspective and appreciation.
"Life is too short and friends are too few."
I would love to hear your thoughts on the story above. You can leave a comment on this blog or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net
Friday, September 14, 2007
Finding Happiness Instead of Feeling Angry
‘Life is my college.
May I graduate well,
and earn some honors!’
Louisa May Alcott, novelist
Does something happen in your life that is frustrating and then you get angry? If you answer “Yes” to this question you are not alone. Feeling angry was a daily occurrence for me until I learned a little secret.
I learned just recently that I have a choice, either I can get angry over the situation or think about a solution to the problem. At first this action was very challenging until trying it for over a week it started to become easier. I love the expression, “When your car won’t start you can either call someone to fix it or get angry and hurt everyone in your path, you have the choice.”
Let me tell you my little story. I changed newsletter providers and in order to continue receiving Life’s Little Journeys Newsletter by Helen Burton you have to sign-up with the new provider. A limited number of people were responding to the email. At first I felt frustrated and got very angry at myself for changing providers. Then I remembered to accept my anger and not to ignore or fight it. Once I acknowledged my feelings, it disappeared and I was able to think about solutions for the problem. My assistant suggested we send out the newsletter by email and request everyone sign-up with the new provider.
I personally invite you to sign-up for the Life’s Little Journeys by Helen Burton. All you have to do is sign-up on this blog (right side above my bio) or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
In the past I would have taken out my anger on the people closest to me and had a miserable day. Instead I acknowledged my anger and with my assistant’s help we found a solution to the problem. As Louisa May Alcott in the quote above eloquently put it, you are learning from your college of life.
I invite you to try the following little experiment and see if it makes a difference in your life:
1. You are angry about something that happens in your life.
2. Acknowledge yourself for feeling angry and the circumstances around it.
3. Think about a solution to the problem or discuss it with some else and find solutions together.
4. Try one of the solutions.
5. Let me know what happens by leaving a comment on this blog or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
Join the Getting Off the Diet Merry-Go-Round Community by sharing your wisdom, successes and lessons learned. All it takes is one little step, leave a comment on the blog or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
What are you doing nice for yourself today?
Helen
May I graduate well,
and earn some honors!’
Louisa May Alcott, novelist
Does something happen in your life that is frustrating and then you get angry? If you answer “Yes” to this question you are not alone. Feeling angry was a daily occurrence for me until I learned a little secret.
I learned just recently that I have a choice, either I can get angry over the situation or think about a solution to the problem. At first this action was very challenging until trying it for over a week it started to become easier. I love the expression, “When your car won’t start you can either call someone to fix it or get angry and hurt everyone in your path, you have the choice.”
Let me tell you my little story. I changed newsletter providers and in order to continue receiving Life’s Little Journeys Newsletter by Helen Burton you have to sign-up with the new provider. A limited number of people were responding to the email. At first I felt frustrated and got very angry at myself for changing providers. Then I remembered to accept my anger and not to ignore or fight it. Once I acknowledged my feelings, it disappeared and I was able to think about solutions for the problem. My assistant suggested we send out the newsletter by email and request everyone sign-up with the new provider.
I personally invite you to sign-up for the Life’s Little Journeys by Helen Burton. All you have to do is sign-up on this blog (right side above my bio) or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
In the past I would have taken out my anger on the people closest to me and had a miserable day. Instead I acknowledged my anger and with my assistant’s help we found a solution to the problem. As Louisa May Alcott in the quote above eloquently put it, you are learning from your college of life.
I invite you to try the following little experiment and see if it makes a difference in your life:
1. You are angry about something that happens in your life.
2. Acknowledge yourself for feeling angry and the circumstances around it.
3. Think about a solution to the problem or discuss it with some else and find solutions together.
4. Try one of the solutions.
5. Let me know what happens by leaving a comment on this blog or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
Join the Getting Off the Diet Merry-Go-Round Community by sharing your wisdom, successes and lessons learned. All it takes is one little step, leave a comment on the blog or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
What are you doing nice for yourself today?
Helen
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Attitudes Create Your Day
Are you struggling with food and feeling frustrated with your life? You are not alone!! I am finding, from working with clients, talking to my friends and my own personal experiences that our attitude determines whether an experience is good or bad. Let me explain.
Let’s take an example. You start the day off eating a healthy breakfast and an hour later you start eating pretzels. After the third pretzel some miracle happens and you decide to stop eating. At that point you can either determine that you are having a bad day and feel sorry for yourself or just say you had a slip and continue eating healthy for the rest of the day. Just thinking you had a slip and what lesson you learned will create a good experience. On the other hand, when you dwell on what happened and feel sorry for yourself you automatically think it was a bad experience. Therefore, our attitude determines if we had a bad or good experience.
I invite you to try a little experiment. Today be aware when something happens whether you consider the situation to be a learning experience or you start to feel sorry for yourself. The first step is awareness of what is happening and then you can make changes in your behavior and thinking.
As always, I would love to hear from you about your experiences while on your life’s journey. Please feel free to contact me with your discoveries from today’s experiment, by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net
Let’s take an example. You start the day off eating a healthy breakfast and an hour later you start eating pretzels. After the third pretzel some miracle happens and you decide to stop eating. At that point you can either determine that you are having a bad day and feel sorry for yourself or just say you had a slip and continue eating healthy for the rest of the day. Just thinking you had a slip and what lesson you learned will create a good experience. On the other hand, when you dwell on what happened and feel sorry for yourself you automatically think it was a bad experience. Therefore, our attitude determines if we had a bad or good experience.
I invite you to try a little experiment. Today be aware when something happens whether you consider the situation to be a learning experience or you start to feel sorry for yourself. The first step is awareness of what is happening and then you can make changes in your behavior and thinking.
As always, I would love to hear from you about your experiences while on your life’s journey. Please feel free to contact me with your discoveries from today’s experiment, by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net
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