Take Inventory of Your Thoughts
The quality of your life depends on it!
You know how you wake up some mornings and feel a little off?
You want to lie back down because, well, you know, life. But you don’t because you’ve got stuff to do. Work, kids, pets, you, etc.
Before you get out of bed, you have a conversation with yourself that’s a combination of complaints and rumbles. Then the guilt from complaining when your life really isn’t bad. You don’t realize it but your day is already set up to have a “Monday” effect.
So you move around mindlessly going through your morning routine (or lack of one). You still feel “off” and that energy transfers into other areas. You end up knocking stuff over, getting frustrated, having to clean up a mess (or leave it for later), feeling like you’re wasting time, and end up running late.
What thoughts go through your mind on mornings like that? Did you even notice your thoughts?
Noticing Your Thoughts
In the past, when I had a morning as described above, I had thoughts that caused me to spiral down and drain my energy. They played over and over as I moved through cleaning up the mess, doing things I should have done the night before, etc. It happened so automatically that I didn’t even realize it was happening at all. (Can you imagine how your day goes when you start the morning that way?)
We have so many thoughts on a regular basis that it’s like background noise. The key is becoming aware. Doing so changes your entire day. Days turn into weeks, months, years. Your quality of life depends on your thoughts.
I’m currently working with a client who is battling this same thing. And it caused me to recall one such morning I had a while back. I don’t remember all the circumstances, but I do remember I was feeling down. (I can only imagine what created that low-energy state given my history of verbal self-abuse.)
Sometimes I listen to motivational videos as I get ready for work. That particular morning, the one video I needed to hear showed up in perfect time. “How to Change Your Emotions”. I didn’t listen to the whole thing but one thing she said grabbed my attention.
Thoughts create feelings.
You can start noticing your thoughts when you pay attention to how you feel on a regular basis. Do you feel drained or energized?
Many times we’re feeling drained, not from what we’ve done that day but from what we’ve been thinking all day.
Thoughts like, I hate this job, I hate this part of the job, my co-workers are killing me, why is this like that, why can’t I, this list could continue for days!
My Challenge to You — Inventory your thoughts
I’ve maintained that habit. Now, if I have mornings as described above, I laugh and just shake my head. I don’t let it shift my energy and change the course of my day.
What you think will bring about associated feelings.
The morning I heard that video, I decided to try out her theory and think about something I knew would make me smile. That puppy of mine (she’s the gal in the picture with me). Sure enough, it worked, I started to feel better. My energy shifted right away. The day was better, I was pleasantly surprised.
You’re always in control of your thoughts. If you notice you aren’t, make it a point to get control of them. Life is less chaotic when you do.
My challenge to you is to start noticing how you’re feeling physically, then take inventory of your thoughts. Do that when you’re feeling both great and not so great. Then decide how you want to feel and generate thoughts that support that. You got this!!
