I’m not sure why, but I was never taught that my thoughts and feelings are 100% in my control and 100% optional and that I could think and feel however I wanted to at any time. I learned this at the ripe age of 40. But that’s OK. I have lots of life left to practice this awesome skill. No matter where you are at in life, learning that your thoughts and feelings, and thus your actions, are totally yours for the taking, you can live a purposeful, deliberate life!
Circumstances are everything in life that are presented to us as facts, or things we do not have control over- like other people, the past, the weather, and universal laws of nature. We have thoughts about the circumstances that are within our control. That’s right- everything you think about is 100% controllable by your mind. It may feel rather automatic because our practiced thoughts become extremely efficient. But they are still optional and controllable. You just have to find out what they are if you want to change them!
These thoughts lead to emotions or feelings. Every feeling has a thought behind it. Feelings never come first, they have to have some thought in order to be generated. Sometimes if you are wondering what thoughts you have about a circumstance, you may need to pinpoint the feeling first and then ask yourself what you are thinking that leads to that feeling. It can be an eye opening experience.
Once we have thoughts and feelings, those feelings will drive our actions or inactions, which lead to the results of our lives. So if you are reflecting on your life and notice any behaviors or habits that you regularly practice but are not giving you the results you want, it is time to dig into those thoughts and feelings and find out what is going on!!
My upcoming coaching programs will be centered around thought work, behaviors, making changes, and progressing toward all the goals you want in life. It takes patience, energy, planning, and commitment to create change in your life, but it is ALL POSSIBLE!
Questions to ponder:
- What are some behaviors/habits that are sabotaging the results I want in life?
- What feelings are driving those behaviors?
- What thoughts are driving those feelings?
- What behaviors/habits would I like instead?
- What thoughts and feelings would drive the desired behaviors as opposed to the undesirable behaviors?
- Write down all the answers to these questions and each day, practice the new thoughts that would drive your desirable behaviors. Commit to it for an entire week and see what happens!
