Matt has always called me a pessimist. I like to think of it being realistic, but whatever.
We would find a beautiful car for $1000 under Blue Book. The engine will probably blow up any day now.
The lady in front of me in line buys a bouquet of flowers. Why? They’re going to die soon anyway.
We’d plan a lovely picnic at the zoo. Probably going to rain and ruin our day.
We can’t afford that. We can’t afford anything.
It’s too good to be true.
It’s only a matter of time until it all falls apart.
My miserable life seemed to confirm my every thought — it’s going to be bad.
As I began to take stock in my existence, and I came face to face with the rot of my life, I stared at the holes I took residence in, and I couldn’t deny the fact that I was the only constant in my life. I was the only one who was there for every second, for every decision, of my life. I was forced to acknowledge the ghastly idea,
what if all my past negative realistic thoughts were the direct cause of my current reality.
Maybe being Debbie Downer wasn’t me being realistic, but actually determining my future. What if on some sub-conscious level my negative belief system drove me and the decisions I made, creating a negative self-fulfilled reality?
What if people who live a good life, will it into existence by their positive belief system. You know, they have faith.
That’s when I began to change a lifetime of thoughts. I began to train my mind to expect good in life, and that I deserve the best life. I’ve concentrated on anticipating positive results to my decisions. I call it my belief system re-boot. I’ve been working on it for over a year and overhauls are no easy feat. In fact, I’m pretty sure delivering four babies with no epidural is a birthday party in comparison.
Yet, all the agonizing mental work is paying off. I’ve watched small things in my life change for the good. I’ve witnessed a positive shift in the winds of my reality, but only after my mind believed it would.
What if we all believed our thoughts today became our reality tomorrow?
I’ve come up with a little exercise that may help shed some light on what I’m trying to say. For the rest of the day take time to think about what you’re thinking. Write down your thoughts and your self-talk. Listen to how you respond to your co-workers, family, and life’s circumstances, and write it all down.
Then, analyze what you’ve written down. Is it full of negative realistic thoughts? Do you expect the worst in every situation? Is your initial thought expecting good results?
Now, believing that your thoughts from today birth your reality of tomorrow, what will your tomorrow look like?
Try it. Let me know what you come up with.
What would our life look like if we lived today and everyday from a belief system that things hoped for and the evidence of the unseen must first become reality in our mind?
This is so powerful! Very thought provoking. I need to try your exercise!
Thanks Jen! Let me know what you think about it! 🙂
Learning so much from you. So thankful.
🙂
I love this. Meta-thinking I think is what this is. Where you think about what you think about and why. Change it all from behind the curtain, it’s genesis. A subtle shift but so powerful.
Yep, it’s metacognition. Apparently, one of my favorite things to do. lol
I actually think I’m undergoing slight changes in this area. We have some goals, personal, financial, and familial. Those goals are important to me and I’ve begun taking some steps towards them on my own – for new, for our son, for our lives.
In recognizing and altering negative self-talk, I find I also grow closer to myself. The be that’s been stuck for a couple years, the one that was open and accepting of what life had to offer, instead of fear, anxiety, and negativity.
That’s awesome to hear! I totally get what you mean about drawing closer to yourself with changing the self-talk. I, too, am learning self-love and appreciation. 🙂
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