{"id":810,"date":"2013-09-19T10:45:35","date_gmt":"2013-09-19T15:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wholeperson.com\/wordpress\/?p=810"},"modified":"2013-09-19T10:51:55","modified_gmt":"2013-09-19T15:51:55","slug":"listen-to-your-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/listen-to-your-thoughts","title":{"rendered":"Listen to your thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jacquelyn<\/a>Reminders to help live life more easily<\/h2>\n

When racing through life, mostly doing the same things day after day, it\u2019s easy to lose track of what you\u2019d be wise to change. Here are some reminders of necessary, ongoing tune-ups:<\/p>\n

1. Listen to your thoughts: Wherever your thoughts are going, that\u2019s where you are going. And thoughts determine emotions. But often you\u2019re unaware of these thoughts because they\u2019re unconscious. Suffice it to say, if you\u2019re feeling depressed you\u2019re thinking depressed thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u2022 If depressed, ask yourself how you\u2019d rather feel. Then think thoughts that carry you toward that feeling. Recall experiences from your past when you felt your preferred emotion and recall that memory over and over and over again to gradually re-wire your brain for greater emotional health. Be patient. When you make progress it\u2019s easy to slip right back into feeling depressed, especially if it\u2019s your predominate emotional state. But the more you redirect your depressed thoughts to your preferred ones, the easier it gets and the longer it lasts.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Listen for rigid beliefs like, \u201cI have to get it all done.\u201d \u201cI shouldn\u2019t worry about me because that\u2019s selfish.\u201d Rigid words like should, shouldn\u2019t, have to, must, can\u2019t, slam the door on options. Others like everyone, no one, always and never exaggerate your reality. All hold you in rigid reactions so nothing changes. Substitute should, shouldn\u2019t, have to and must with choose, prefer and want. Replace can\u2019t with choose not to, always and never with specific examples of when. No one and everyone with specific names. Change your thoughts, change your life.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Learn from the psychologist who demonstrated an important stress management point holding a half-full glass of water. Her audience expected the lesson was about the half-empty metaphor. But her point was about holding up the glass and its effect over time on the person\u2019s arm. The longer it was held, the heavier it became. Just like with life\u2019s stressors: the longer you hold onto them the heavier they become.<\/p>\n

2. Listen to your emotions: Your emotions also speak to you. Observe yourself feeling what you feel when you feel it: sadness, anger, insecurity, jealousy. Sometimes all you need is more rest to feel more emotionally balanced. Sometimes you need to change a relationship with another \u2013 or with yourself. Let your feelings guide you in determining what needs attention.<\/p>\n

3. Listen to your body: Your body speaks to you all of the time. It tells you when it\u2019s overloaded with too much stress. The trick is to not only listen to it but to act on what it tells you.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Too much stress over long periods of time leaves your body with too much of the stress hormones floating around inside you doing their insidious, gradual damage. Become far more consciously aware of your body\u2019s symptoms when too stressed: an increase in muscle tension, headaches, shortness of breath, insomnia. What are your symptoms?<\/p>\n

\u2022 If you\u2019re aware of the causes of your stress, deal with them. If you\u2019re not aware, at least do something nourishing for your mind, body and spirit to relieve the pressure.<\/p>\n

4. Prioritize time investments: I train people how to treat me,\u201d Dr. Wayne Dyer once said. If you insist on doing everything you teach those around you that you\u2019ll do everything. When you do more than your share of work while no one else does anything, ask yourself, \u201cWhy should they?\u201d Tell them you\u2019re going to do only your work and not theirs and see what happens. Most will pick up more of what they should have been doing all along proving by changing your behavior you get a different outcome.<\/p>\n

\u2022 At work and at home decide your top priorities. Then look at how you spend your time for a week or so. Become aware of how often you do things that aren\u2019t close to being priorities. Let some of those things go. For example, if spending time with your kids is a top priority but you\u2019re spending significant time cleaning the house, do fewer chores, with less perfectionism, and spend more time with your kids. Make conscious choices that support your priorities.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Set Limits. \u201cI can\u2019t say no; that wouldn\u2019t be nice.\u201d If you think you can\u2019t, you won\u2019t. Ask yourself if the others\u2019 requests help or hinder achieving your priorities. Let your answer influence your choice. Sometimes it\u2019s fine to help if you have the time. But when you\u2019re overloaded and continue to say \u201cyes\u201d you\u2019re teaching others you\u2019ll always help them so they\u2019ll expect you to help the next time, too. Learn assertive skills to set appropriate limits. It\u2019s very freeing.<\/p>\n

5. Self-care: Make yourself and your wellbeing a priority by taking 30 to 60 minutes daily to feed your mind and body. Staying well allows you to be better for those around you.<\/p>\n

-from Jacquelyn Ferguson’s<\/a> blog, Stress for Success<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reminders to help live life more easily When racing through life, mostly doing the same things day after day, it\u2019s easy to lose track of what you\u2019d be wise to change. Here are some reminders of necessary, ongoing tune-ups: 1. Listen to your thoughts: Wherever your thoughts are going, that\u2019s where you are going. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nListen to your thoughts - The Wellness Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Listen to your thoughts: Wherever your thoughts are going, that\u2019s where you are going. 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