After spending time on the phone today with a family member, I really could see they were having a really tough time. But I could also see that their mind was set on a whole lot of negative ideas that were just not helping them.
Your mindset can truly make or break you. This is why it is so important to be aware of, and to always be working towards building a healthy thought process. More than ever, people are realizing just how much mental health has an impact on their physical health.
While this is a different process for each of us, there are some basic principles we can all take into consideration on our mental health journeys…
Self-Esteem
Speaking or thinking negative thoughts about yourself can lead to a warped self-esteem. When you constantly put yourself down, you destroy your own confidence, and this can lead to a lot of problems that make even simple tasks seem impossible. Negative self-talk contributes to anxiety, stress, depression, and more. One of the people most affected are those we would call “control freaks” They are the hardest to kick out negative thinking once it’s started. Another person who has a really hard time with self-esteem is someone who is autistic, speaking from someone who knows someone who is, their mind gets stuck in a loop. And its very hard to get them out of it.
Instead of continuing these habits and allowing these negative thoughts to run rampant, make an effort to become more aware of when it starts to happen… Pay attention to what trigger these thoughts and feelings about yourself. Once you know your triggers, you can begin to get to the roots of WHY those things trigger you to feel negatively about yourself.
This can be done alone, with family/friends, or with a professional therapist. Everyone’s needs are different, so make sure you are handling it with or without whomever you need. When you find the core problem(s), healing and resetting of mental habits can begin.
Success
Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.” This is such a powerful statement that really points out how much our attitudes impact our success. If you constantly tell yourself you can’t do something for whatever reason(s), you will ultimately never do that thing. This won’t be because you were right—it’ll be because you talked yourself out of succeeding at it! However, on the other hand, when you go into something with a positive and “can-do” attitude, you WILL have much better results.
Even if you fail, you will have built up your confidence so that you can try again and figure out how you CAN succeed. Belief breeds confidence, and confidence breeds determination. Believe that you can do something, and you WILL find a way to do it!
Your day-to-day life is determined by the direction of your attitude… Make a point to create a routine of positivity at the start of each day. Get yourself in the right mindset when you wake up, and this will help you set the tone for your day. Even when bad things happen—and they will—your attitude will be the deciding factor in whether you let those things break you down and steal precious time from your life. Think of yourself like a bottle filled with either water or soda…
Do you want to explode every time you get shaken? Or would you rather maintain your state of positivity and calm even when life shakes you up?
A good book to check out is Stop Overthinking by Nick Trenton
Header Photo by Sies Kranen on Unsplash
