Tag: mindfulness

Too Much Moodiness?

August 20, 2017

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I have noticed that we tend to get irritated way too easily. A hiccup in our plans, rearranging the schedule last minute, the slow driver on the highway, technology that won’t work. Anything that causes us a little inconvenience just gets under our skin and turns our whole mood sour and our day is ruined.

Now, I want to say first off that it’s not wrong to get a little irritated sometimes… because it IS rough when you are stuck behind a really slow driver, or you are trying to get something accomplished and technology is just not working with us. However, we let those inconveniences bother us WAY more than we should. We constantly dwell on them and, instead of taking a deep breath and controlling how we think and look at our situations, we let them control us and our thoughts. Then we have a big mess. 🙂 We ourselves are miserable, and we also make it miserable for those around us. What is inside, what we meditate and dwell on, is eventually going to come out… and no one wants to be around someone who is miserable. They will be miserable, too.

It is impossible in this life to have positive thoughts all the time and never get irritated. We are sinful people living in a sinful world after all; but we don’t have to be in a bad mood ALL the time. And we don’t have to transfer that bad mood to others. Here are some helpful tips to try and reduce those moods:

1. Positive Noise

What you let yourself listen to has a great impact on how you behave and what you think about. It is very easy to get annoyed when we are on the road. With construction, crazy drivers and annoyingly long traffic lights, there is a lot that can mess up our day and our plans; and don’t even get me started about when there is a time limit involved!

So plug your ears to all the negative thoughts flying around you and pop in some of your favorite music… or an audio book. You are much less likely to be fuming about the length of the light or the slowness of the cars around you when you are trying to concentrate on the words to your favorite song. It makes time go by much faster. And don’t be afraid to sing along! Hey, when you are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, roll down your windows and share the joy! 🙂

2. Smell the Roses

Nature is very therapeutic. Have you ever noticed how calming a walk in the park is? A hike through the woods? A swim in the lake? Try taking a walk when things start getting under your skin. Even just walking barefoot in your backyard (this is called grounding) feels so relaxing. All the irritating things we struggle with seem so small in the midst of the beauty in nature.

Try applying or diffusing some of the many soothing and uplifting essential oils. I’m sure you have a favorite smell that just makes everything around you seem brighter.

3. Talk About It

You know, sometimes we just NEED TO RANT; and occasionally that is OK. Keeping our feelings locked up inside is not always a good thing. If we are struggling with frustrations and we keep it tucked away it can easily grow until it eats away at us… or we explode. Neither of those options are good. 🙂 Sometimes talking to your family and friends about things that bother you is a great way to relieve stress. Be careful with your words, you don’t want to drag anyone down or make them desire to run away. After you talk about it, let it go. The more you bring it up the more you are tempted to dwell on those little details. Then it is a very slippery slide to where it consumes your thoughts again.

Pray. God will always listen and He is willing to help you with your struggles. As a side note… it may be thought of as crazy, but talking about things out loud to yourself can help a lot. 😀

 

Look around you. God gave us an amazing life to live; and it is a shame to waste it by letting the little troubles of the day get under our skin and make us miserable. Trust me, it is not worth it. Besides, we all think it would be wonderful if the people we meet every day would be in good moods for us. How can we expect something from someone else that we are not willing to do ourselves?

So begin with you (and me), and get out there today and start that positive domino effect! Spread the JOY!!

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope…”

 

Our Thoughts Contain so much POWER!

July 17, 2017

 

Mindfulness wooden sign with a beach on background

Did you know that our happiness is a choice we make every day? And that it affects our health physically as much as emotionally? I want to look at just a few ways our thoughts affect our bodies… and our lives.

A Negative Mind Hurts Our Body

Our minds are powerful things and they can play many tricks on us (no, not Jedi mind tricks 🙂 ). We know that the brain controls the body, so it makes sense that the thoughts that occupy our brain have a great effect on our health. But maybe we don’t think enough on what damage negative thoughts have on our health. There are so many ways that we can damage our health with our thoughts, but I am just going to skim the surface for now.

Have you ever fought with someone and you got so angry and emotional you couldn’t think about anything else? These negative thoughts can really drag you down and keep your brain active so as not to let your body get the sleep it needs. OR… how about the one about STRESS?? We all have dealt with stress over something. Stress about everything you have to do today, stress over things that are to come, stress over work, stress over relationships. And it is so easy to let it consume us and paralyze us so that we don’t do our jobs well, or even not at all.

We begin to tell ourselves all the things that could go wrong or get scared with the long lists and stressful situations and dwell on them so much we don’t enjoy ourselves and our lives. We are “worried sick.” We no longer have any motivation or desire to do anything. Then we beat up on ourselves.

We are not happy. We find no happiness in doing anything in life. We just give up.

A Negative Mind Hurts Our Happiness

But there is more to this than just being happy, at least, what we think happy means. So let’s take a look at what the word “happy” means. Is it just a fickle emotion? Or is there more to it?

Happiness, in the truest definition, actually means… contentment. And that is more than just a feeling. It is a choice we make. A choice to not dwell on all the bad things around us, things we cannot control, and to look for all the good things that God has given us. Look for the “blessing in the thorns”.

A Negative Mind Hurts Those Around Us

No one likes to be around a “Negative Nancy” all the time. When we are constantly hanging around with someone who is gloomy or complaining about their difficult situations all the time, we not only get very annoyed, but all of that negativity and gloom gets passed on to us and then we start feeling the same way. Thus begins another game of dominoes!

You know that what you are constantly processing and thinking about is eventually going to come out. We can’t keep it inside forever. No one is that good. 🙂

So maybe this week, when you are talking to your friends or family, just try and curb your complaining a little. Because it is really not as bad as you think. Then try practicing gratitude. Because there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for.  We just have to be willing to open our eyes to see it. And little by little your joy and happiness will begin to grow and you will become a blessing to those around you as well. Be intentional.

A Negative Mind Limits Us

I wonder how many things we have missed out on simply because we let this thought creep in and take over: “I don’t believe I can do that.” So we don’t even try. Words have POWER. Even when they are not spoken out loud.

It’s Not About Surviving

You know, sitting back and just living with all these negative thoughts, just trying to make it through another day, is surviving. Ever heard or said this before? “How are you doing today?” “Oh, I’m surviving.”

And while surviving is not a bad thing (in fact I hope we all do it) it’s not enough to simply “survive”. We should be trying to “live”. These are two different words, but they go hand in hand. Too often I see people (myself included) just surviving. Making it from day to day, not really enjoying all the blessings and opportunities that they have been given, because they are so wrapped up in all the negative things that are going on in their lives. It drags them down. And believing they have to live with it and can’t change it, they focus so much on it and miss the joys of actually LIVING and CHOOSING the thoughts that occupy their minds.

How many times have we missed the beauty, blessings and wonderful opportunities staring us in the face because we were so wrapped up with being consumed by negative thoughts? Even in the darkest of times and the worst of situations, God is still good. We still have a choice.

I want to start living my life to the fullest and being more intentional with my thoughts. Being more positive, not only for my body’s sake, but for the sake of those around me. What will you choose?  Inspirational Typographic Quote - Your mind is a powerful thing