“You need to learn how to select your thoughts, just the same way you select your clothes everyday. This is a power you can cultivate” – Elizabeth Gilbert
This quote from Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love book really resonates with me at the moment. Life continues to be so surreal and not a little confusing for many of us.
I must admit while it made sense, it also made me smile because on many days I’m not the most organised at selecting my clothes, which led me to wonder how that might help me to select my thoughts more carefully.
In all seriousness though, choosing which thoughts to allow ourselves to give room to is a really good way to help mitigate against much of the negativity and anxiety in the current environment. It’s not always an easy thing to do but it can be a great way to create a more positive outlook and to lessen any frustration that we may be feeling about the news and the changing regulations in our communities.
Acknowledge each thought, then choose only to focus on the ones which create the least anxiety and which enable you to feel more settled in yourself.
Follow the guidance to stay safe and then if you find yourself dwelling on negative thoughts, make a conscious effort to acknowledge but then let go of them and turn your focus onto something that makes you feel good; someone complimenting you unexpectedly or making you a coffee at work; your boss noticing a piece of work that you’ve done well; some quality time with your partner or a favourite image or piece of music; maybe what you’re planning to make for supper; enjoying nature or your favourite pet and the unconditional love that they bring to your life.
Create a little stock of positive thoughts that you can turn to when you need to distract yourself from worrying, negative issues. Then keep adding to your stockpile of positive thoughts and experiences to focus on in order to help improve your sense of wellbeing. (Maybe write each one down on a slip of paper and pop them into a jar so you can pull one out each morning to help you focus). Gradually you will cultivate the power to select your thoughts as effectively as you choose your clothes in the morning (unless you are like me in which case you will learn to choose your thoughts more effectively than you choose your clothes).
If you’d like to talk about this and you don’t manage to catch up with me on Thursday lunchtimes around the duck pond, you are very welcome to call me directly on my mobile: 07526 378529 either to chat or to arrange a time to meet. If you prefer you can email us on info@mite.org.uk and request a call back.
Debbie.
We also have a range of resources on our web-site including some that are more specific to the Covid-19 outbreak and some that help in dealing with stress: https://mite.org.uk
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