Want to change how you feel? Change how you think!
A lot of people come to therapy looking to change how they feel. In fact, a large percentage of people who seek therapy are looking to manage feelings of depression or Anxiety. Are you one of these people? What do you think determines how you feel on a daily basis? A lot of people blame their family, their job or their situation. Some people just feel as though its how they’re supposed to feel and don’t believe they can make changes at all.
This is where I challenge people to look beyond their feelings and think about what they are really saying to themselves. Think about what you say to yourself every day. Is this not how you think about yourself and the world around you? Now think about how each of those thoughts makes you feel. See how thoughts and feelings are connected?
A good way to try this is think about something that makes you happy. Just from that statement you’re excercising the ability to change your mood, merely by thinking about a happy moment in your life.
What if you thought about something that made you happy every time you felt depressed or anxious? Imagine how that could change the way you think, and ultimately, the way you feel!
When you change your thoughts and feelings, you will change your experience and alter your reality. When the changes to your thoughts and feelings are positive ones, your experience and reality will be positive.
I choose to change the world, one person at a time, starting with me.
[...] I guess my point is, if you don’t like how a thought is affecting you, Stop It, and think about something that is going to help you improve your situation. This method is ironic, considering I just did an interview with Stop And Think Radio and TV, and the theme here is along the same lines. Their bag is addiction of course, but you can’t start doing something new, unless you stop doing the old behavior that got you where you are. You have a choice, so make the choice to improve and change your thinking so you can change how you feel. [...]