This is late because I had internet problems yesterday! Silly Internet. Anyways, the wonderful Mina Lobo at Some Dark Romantic is hosting the Resurrection Blogfest for her blog-o-versary! Happy Bloggiversary, Mina! The rules are simple: resurrect a post from between November 8, 2012 and November 6, 2013.
Because I posted yesterday for the IWSG about being positive, I decided to resurrect a post from June 28, 2013 titled "Healthy thoughts."
A HUGE part of getting healthy, is making sure your thoughts are positive. It sounds easy, right? I bet many people don't realize how negative they really are. How many people use the term "F my life" or "I just can't" or "I'm not doing enough" or "I'm terrible at this."
What about...
"I hate the way I look in this dress""I don't like my [insert body part here]""I shouldn't have eaten that brownie for lunch"
Even saying "I want to be a writer" when someone asks you what you want to do with your English Degree isn't thinking positively. If I said "I'm a writer," now that would be positive.
Healthy, positive thoughts are so important to us as writers. We swim in a world of rejection a lot. I even had a dream about sending a query off and being rejected in like two seconds. It's hard and it will be harder if we let it bring us down.
Now, I didn't just magically decide one day that I needed healthy thoughts, or that my thoughts were unhealthy. This has been a learning process and don't think for a second that all I have are perfect thoughts because...man, it's hard to change how you think. Once you begin though, you'll start becoming hyper-aware of where negativity comes from and it will make you feel icky. Then you'll realize where you picked those thoughts up from (maybe your mother or your father? Teachers or other influential characters in your life). You'll start to tell those negative thoughts "no!" and feel better for it.
Changing our thoughts allows us to attract positive things in life because we're finally not focusing on the bad. It's a good exercise for anyone.
Start by turning one negative thing you say about yourself into a positive one. What would you change?
It's always a good reminder to stay positive! :)
That's a really positive message. A lot of people seem to want to be unhappy, and find excuses for not making the most of a situation. I also agree about the people who say they merely "want" to be writers. I truly don't get why so many people these days downplay themselves as mere "aspiring" writers when they're actively writing, published or not.
ReplyDeleteGreat post with a wonderful message. I took up yoga about seven years ago and I wish I had found it earlier. The exercise is good but its the meditation, breathing and relaxing that really gives you a positive look at life and has helped my writing focus. Plus my yoga teacher is always talking positive thoughts while teaching the class which helps.
ReplyDeleteAs a Psychology major I have to agree wholeheartedly with this post. The power of your thoughts is not to be taken lightly! One negative thought almost always overshadows 100 positive ones. It's easier said than done, being positive, but the benefits are pretty fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI seriously (if you know me, you know I'm not often serious) look at life with a "glass half full" perspective. I firmly believe that most things usually turn out okay. Not all, to be sure, but most.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing is...
I DO hate the way I look in that dress.
This is a wonderful post to resurrect. Change is hard, but necessary. I love your last line about attracting positive things.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! It's true that positive thoughts contribute to our overall health, while negative thoughts can wear you down. Your advice is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteSo true, Ashley! Someone else recently pointed this out to me, and it really struck a chord. And hearing it again, so well stated, I'm definitely going to try and be more cognizant of the negative things I say about myself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great reminder!!
Great post. Being so positive also helps with confidence, I find :)
ReplyDeleteI work with a quasi celebrity doctor, Dr. Amen, and he is always talking about positive thinking. The part about body image and negative thinking resonates with me. He always tells me not to think of things in terms of "shouldn't" because then you immediately want to. When you go for that brownie think "Is this in my best interests?" When you want to date a jerk because he is just so good looking, don't think, "Oh, I shouldn't" think, "Is he in my best interests?" Great post.
ReplyDeletethought provoking - I have found a brownie is normally in my best interests, tho :)
ReplyDeleteFor me, I had to change my thoughts from hopelessness to recklessness, as regards publishing my debut novel. The hopelessness came from all the rejections by agents; the recklessness emerged with the resolution: "Funk this noise; I'm gonna publish that sucker myself." I have to say, I wouldn't label any of the subsequent thoughts as I went through the self-publishing process as "positive" so much as "pugnacious." :-D I think it worked for me because I always feel better when I take action, as opposed to waiting on others to acknowledge me in some way. Glad you were able to post for the 'fest, Ashley!
ReplyDeleteEncouraging post, thanks! I do beat myself up constantly (mentally).
ReplyDeleteThe Warrior Muse