CAN HOW YOU THINK INFLUENCE HOW YOU FEEL?

Hello Everyone,

What makes you smile?  Take a few minutes and think about it. I bet that as you started thinking about it, you started to smile again!  If thinking about something can make you smile, can thinking about something influence how you feel?

Let’s test it out.

Repeat the following statements.

I can never measure up.

I won’t ever be happy.

Nobody really cares about me.

Nothing can work for me.

If you focus on these and similar thoughts how do you feel?

Now try these statements.

I am good.

I have many positive qualities.

People care about me.

I have accomplished many things before and I can accomplish even more.

How do you feel when you focus on these thoughts?

When people don’t feel better after thinking about positive thoughts it is often a result of not believing in the positive thoughts.  Often after saying or thinking about positive statements, people who struggle will add the famous, “Yea, but…” For example, “I am good, but not good enough”.  “I can do a good job, but so can everyone else”.  When we minimize and discount the positives, we end up focusing on the negatives.  When we focus on the negatives, we tend to feel down.

I guess what you think does influence how you feel!

How do you want to feel? What thoughts would support feeling that way? An exercise you can use is to write a positive script or dialogue.  Make a list of ten positive statements you believe would support feeling positive.

I know just writing this dialogue out doesn’t take away depression or anxiety.  This takes time and most importantly action such as writing this positive dialogue or script.  You reading this positive dialogue or script multiple times a day consistently over several weeks will help you develop a new mind set and a new positive perspective on you, your situation and your future.

If you want to feel a certain way, identify that feeling.  Make a list of the thoughts you would need to focus on to support that feeling.  Repeat that list as often as you can throughout the day. Continue to do so over the next week.  Before you start give yourself a rating of how much you feel that way today.  After a week of reading and repeating your list or positive dialogue, rate yourself again and see the progress you can make in just one week!

Best Regards,

~ Dr. Lou

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