Are Your Thoughts Nurturing Your Heart?

We have the power to make sure they are

Today

I was walking along a rocky Lake Huron shoreline today. I snapped a picture of this wild rose petal that had fallen on the rocks. It was filled with a collection of raindrops.

In my mind, I saw my heart laying on the rocks crying.

Battling Thoughts

I have some thoughts in my mind that have been engaged in a battle. One of the thoughts is that I am committed to a healthy lifestyle. I want to be. But, in reality, I am not consistent. So, am I really committed to a healthy lifestyle?

I have allowed thoughts to sabotage my progress. I know what I want. I know what I need to do in terms of diet and exercise. I know how to do everything that I need to do. I have made great progress and then slipped backward. Then, made great progress again, and slipped backward again.

I need to tune into these sabotaging thoughts so they don’t run wild. I have to ready myself with an arsenal of shifted thinking to challenge and win this battle against these thoughts. My health and happiness depend on it.

If you have thoughts battling in your mind, I hope you will be able to use the outlined shifts in thinking to support your own shifts.

Comparison

Comparison doesn’t work. Every person is different. What works for one person doesn’t work for everyone. Just because many other people can have ice cream after dinner doesn’t mean I can too. If my bloodwork shows a need to skip added sugar and dairy, then I should skip the ice cream. If I allowed comparisons to guide me, I would lose.

When my thoughts say I could have just a little ice cream or other snacks because other people are having a lot, I need to shift my thinking to remind myself that I am committed to my health and wellness goals. Ice cream and other snacks are not ingredients in my success. This is my own path. Others are on their own path.

Procrastination

Procrastination doesn’t work. Tomorrow is not a great day to start fresh. Waiting for a tomorrow that never comes delays and can sometimes even eliminate progress. I will lose if I fall into procrastination.

I need to shift this next-time thinking to right-now thinking. I need to remember that right now is always the best time to make a great choice toward my goal.

Lies

Lies don’t work. I have thoughts that try to trick me into giving myself a break. They tell me that I have been sticking closely to my health and wellness plan even if I haven’t. This only allows me to stray, it doesn’t help me stay on track.

I can easily fall for these tricks. I need to shift this thinking to fact-checking. Keeping notes about exercise, water intake, and a food log is what has worked best in the past. Why would I avoid the evidence and turn to faulty thinking as my guide? Hmmm…what do I really want? If I choose to believe the lies, I will lose.

Self-Hate

Self-hate doesn’t work. Many times today I have found myself engaging in negative thinking. My self-hate says I am so fat. The truth is, I am not so fat. I am not at the weight that I want to be and I am not as toned as I want to be. I am not far from my goal.

My self-hate tends to run a loop in my head of the backward slips and it tries to delete the clips of positive progress. I will lose if I don’t turn this around.

Negative self-hate does not motivate me. I need to shift this thinking to a reminder that I have been at my goal before and I am on my way again. I can get there and I can stay there. I want to enjoy a healthy happy life. Self-acceptance and support will lead me there.

Final Thoughts

I am not my thoughts. If I was my thoughts, I would be tagged a fat loser. To that, I say, Not it.

I will not take this title that the battling thoughts in my mind are trying to pin on me. I will shift my thinking and make progress.

I am thankful that these battling thoughts in my mind are just passing thoughts. I feel for those that have these types of thoughts obsessively. We never know what people are thinking and how their thinking is impacting their feelings and actions. We can however be kind as to not add to the trouble they are already experiencing in their thoughts. We can remind each other that we are not our thoughts. We have the power to change our thoughts so that they nurture our hearts.

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone will recognize thoughts that are not serving them and make the needed shifts to succeed in health and happiness.

Thank you to Diana C. for providing the space for the guest prompt by Sujona Chatterjee: We are not our thoughts.