3 Ways To Be More In Control Of Your Thoughts
You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.
-Dan Millman
Your thoughts can make or break you. You can let them consume you and make you into a negative person or you can use them for good, to drive and inspire you.
I woke up this morning in a funk. It took me forever to fall asleep, stressed about everything I have to do this week, had weird dreams, and woke up feeling drained and exhausted. I wanted to jump straight to work but checked my calendar and realized I had an appointment I forgot about that derailed all my plans. These kinds of mornings happen to the best of us. My old self would have just gone the the appointment and then gotten back in bed and stayed in a dark hole all day. Instead, I took a quick moment to journal, managed to get to my appointment, went to a work out class, found time to work on my phone between locations, and ran my errands all before noon. Sometimes it’s way more difficult to be positive in a situation than it is to just wallow in self pity or negativity. The difference is all in the way you learned to control your thoughts. If you tend to struggle with this, these are my three new favorite tips to help you be more in control:
Write.
I love to use writing in several ways. Everyday you can write down things you’re grateful for and affirmations. You can use it to keep track of your goals, a study by Dr. Gail Matthews says when you write down your goals you are 42% more likely to achieve them. You can also write down everything that you do well and things you’re proud of accomplishing, so whenever you’re down you can look back at how awesome you really are. Making that subtle shift to look at the positives and seeing it written down can begin change your thoughts.
Take action.
You might be having the worst day ever, every part of you might just want to curl up and sleep, but simply take action. Even simply begin a task and many times you’ll continue to work. Once you’ve accomplished something you may even feel a little better and motivated.
Evaluate and choose your meaning.
One of the core pieces that make us human is we give everything meaning and we all have different perspectives. For example two people could be in the same scenario of just being broken up with. One person could take it to mean that they’re worthless and always going to be alone. The other may choose it to mean that it wasn't the right person for them and they learned a lot from the relationship. Another example, If you’re frustrated and overwhelmed at work, instead of giving the frustration meaning that you can’t accomplish something, see it as a realization you may need to try it differently! See how that works? If you’re faced with a tough decision or emotion, train yourself to assign a meaning that is most useful. *Another little tip: Empower yourself by saying “I won’t” vs “I can’t.” Instead of “I can’t go to the gym” or “I can’t get a new job," think “I won’t go to the gym” or “I won’t get a new job.” It shifts the perspective that everything is under your control and you can choose what you make time for and want to accomplish.
I hope these tips help you evaluate your thoughts a little more closely and feel more in control. What are you most excited to try? Have you found other things that help you? Love to hear about them in the comments below!