Hi, friends!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope this Monday is being nice to you.
I'm really loving the pixie pants from Old Navy right now. Anything that works for Spring/Summer and can still stick around for the Fall is a win in my book. These gingham pants are on clearance but they're coming out with tons of new patterns for these peplum tops so I imagine we will be seeing loooooots more of these to come. I'm not mad about it. The $15 dollar price tag is also something to not be mad about.
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You know the age old saying, "you are what you eat"? I don't necessarily think that's true because if it were, I'd be a bowl of mixed berries. Can't seem to get enough of those these days. #pregnancycravings #exceptnot
But even if you aren't what you eat, you are what you think. Your thought life will literally determine the way you view your circumstances, others, and yourself. So disciplining your thoughts then becomes one of the most important things you can do.
We spend hours in the gym (ok, I don't but maybe you do?). We read labels before buying certain foods and household products. We even carry tiny bottles of germ killers and lather up every time a threat to our well being arrives (looking at you, public bathrooms).
Yet, for so many of us, thinking "happy thoughts" is a ridiculous notion that's cute for Disney movies but not applicable in real life. Seems much more viable to allow negative thoughts to wreak havoc on our thought life and just assume that it's normal. Riiiiiiiiight.
Well, it's not normal.
Here are a few ways I've been practicing whipping those joy-killing thoughts into shape:
1. Discipline your disappointments: It doesn't take long for me to jump to conclusions, and if you even try to tell me not to get my hopes up... LOL. TOO LATE. The highs are fun but when I hit those lows, I really let myself sink. SO instead of showing up to the pity party, I shut it down. By literally just deciding to revert my thoughts to something else, I don't give the disappointment the freedom to de-rail me.
2. Stop the Spiral: After giving birth to Rowen, I had three months to fit into a bridesmaids dress for my sisters wedding. Pressure was ON. I was nursing exclusively so I had to be so careful about everything I did. I tried my dress on when it arrived and the dang thing wouldn't zip. Keep in mind, I still had months before it had to zip. But I allowed myself to spiral. First I was disappointed about the dress, but then like a toxic ooz, the disappointment starting seeping into other areas of my mind. "Not only am I too fat for my dress to fit but I'm pretty sure my marriage stinks, my kids are annoying, my house is ugly, and I have nothing to wear to the rehearsal dinner (in three months)". It happens fast. But stopping the spiral needs to happen faster. It's like you come up with two choices as soon as the reality of negativity hits: You can focus on the negative. OR you can focus on the positive. It really is that easy. Like a muscle, it starts out weak and then the more you use it, it starts to get stronger.
3. Protect against Patterns: Sometimes you just can't help running into negativity, but where you can help it, DO. For instance, I noticed that every time I weighed myself, I would either be happy because I met a goal or sad because I didn't. I realized after weeks of taking my frustration out on whoever ended up in my post-scale encounter wake that it just wasn't worth it. Sometimes, when possible, just remove the trigger. Case and point, I stopped weighing myself. As long my clothes fit, I was reaching goals. So it really didn't matter what the scale said anyway. If you can remove whatever is triggering your negativity, always do that first. If there's a few people you follow on social media that make you feel bad about yourself in one way or another, UNFOLLOW. Even for a time. It's ok. You can always follow back. Taking the time to really learn what triggers negativity in your mind is vital to having a happy thought life. Really start trying to notice what is causing you to develop patterns of negativity and you can actually start doing something about it
4. Read the WORD: I just can't stress enough the power that is in God's word in helping to align your mind with things that are true. Every morning during my time with the Lord (Reading the Bible and praying), I ask God to renew my mind. It's like when you're needing to see something new on your screen, you just refresh it. Reading the Bible is the most powerful way to refresh and renew your thoughts. If you're new to the Bible reading thing, I'd suggest starting by reading a Proverbs for each day of the month. I also love Philippians. Yes, the whole book. So good. You can add in a devotional like Jesus Calling or something from the app She Reads Truth. As you start each morning this way, you'll begin to see a huge difference in your thoughts!
Over the past eight years of our marriage, Matt and I have crazy amounts of ups and downs mostly due to his health. He has an auto immune disease that's had him hospitalized for over a month already this year. If there's one thing we have learned during this season of our lives, it's that while we can't control what happens to us, we CAN control how we respond. We choose happiness. You can too. Even if it means you need to see a professional to help you navigate thru the depth of your thoughts. Do it. You're worth it.
A negative mindset is just a thought away. But guess what? So is a positive and happy one. You get to decide!
Happiest of Mondays to you!
All my love,
Laura