Negativity often overwhelms me. I see it everywhere, I hear it everywhere. I try to avoid it as much as possible. I don’t watch or listen to talking heads or news programs, I avoid people that are stuck in the negative rut. But, sometimes it can’t be avoided.
Sometimes, the place I hear the most negativity is in my head. It’s easy to get caught in the “I can’t” loop. Despite how hard I’ve worked to overcome this and to stay focused on the positive, I still catch myself occasionally spewing negative commentary about myself and about the world. What I learned in therapy years ago is that just stopping those thoughts isn’t really possible without replacing them with better thoughts, with positive thoughts.
If all we do is spend time thinking about the negatives we shouldn’t say or think, then we are still doing nothing but thinking about those negative things. Instead, we have to focus on replacing those negatives with positive truths.
When you find yourself thinking negative thoughts try replacing them with these positive truths.
Life is too short to spend in negativity. So, I have made a conscious effort to not be where I don't want to be. - Hugh Dillon Share on X– You are Good enough! It’s too easy to believe that we aren’t good enough. That we don’t have it in us. But, you are good enough. I am good enough to make it happen. Whatever it is. Yes we all have flaws, but those flaws are part of what make us who we are. We should embrace them for what they are, but we should not allow ourselves to be overtaken by them.
– There will be another chance. It often feels like chronic illness has taken everything. Perhaps you lost your dream job or you weren’t able to follow your dream. Maybe it’s time to create a new dream. Think about the why of what you wanted to do before and find a new way to answer that why within your new limitations.
When I got sick I’d just returned to school with the intent to do a double major in Psychology and Marketing. I wanted to work with companies on their marketing campaigns and the why people buy. When I finally reached a point where I could return to school I knew I couldn’t do the double major. One thing I’d always wanted to do was counseling of some sort, so I decided to just focus on the Psychology degree with the hopes of going to grad school. Then I realized that was too big of a goal, too. Luckily, I have a professor that pointed out the value of my writing and that I could use that to help people (and help more people). My why was that I wanted to help people, I just had to find a new way to do it.
– There is always something good if you look for it. I remember reaching the point where I felt like I had nothing worth living for, let alone smiling for. I couldn’t come up with a positive in my life if I tried. But, the fact was that there were good things all around me, I just wasn’t willing to accept them. I have wonderfully supportive people in my life. I live in a beautiful area where all I have to do is look out the window to appreciate the beauty of nature. No matter how bad life is there is something good, something worth smiling for. Even if it’s just finding a funny show on Netflix. Find the good that surrounds you, no matter how small it is.
Focus on finding the good that surrounds you, no matter how small. The more we focus on the good, the more we see it everywhere. Share on X– Life will get better. – There is always hope for improvement, even if it’s hard to see at times. I know that I certainly reached a time where I didn’t believe that life would get better, or that I would get better. Oddly, it was reaching that point and realizing where I was that drove me to be willing to do ANYTHING to make life better.
You often hear stories of people who had to reach “rock bottom” before they could or would make the necessary changes to improve their life. I believe I was one of those people. I was a day away from checking myself into a local hospital as suicidal. Instead I decided to reach out to my family and let them know where I was and that I needed help. Realizing that I wasn’t quite ready for life to end was what catapulted me to the point of realizing that I hadn’t tried everything and being willing to try anything. For me that anything was changing my diet and lifestyle. It worked. Your anything might be different. We all have things we look at and feel like “I can’t do that” or “it’s too hard”, but perhaps the life we are leading is already too hard, and perhaps those changes are easier than we think.
#Spoonie There is always hope for improvement, even if it's hard to see at times. #chronicillness Share on X– Just do it! I’ve talked to so many people who feel like they have to plan and research before they can start something – whether it’s a business or a diet change. Sure, there is some basic research you should do, but honestly most of what people say they need to research they can do after they start. Just start. The longer you wait the less likely you are to ever actually do anything. Don’t put it off. Tomorrow never comes.
– You have the time. Start now. We so often use the excuse that we don’t have enough time to do things. But, the time is often there, we are just using it for something else. It’s all about priorities and you need to prioritize you and your health. You have the time to be healthier. You have the time to focus on you, you just have to take it.
– It’s OK to put yourself first. We get so wrapped up in the needs of others sometimes that we forget to actually prioritize time for ourselves. If you don’t put you and your health first, no one else will. If you keep saying yes to everything everyone else asks for, they will keep asking you for more. Put yourself first and learn to say no.
– It’s OK to say No! – How many times have you found yourself agreeing to do something only to wish you hadn’t. Only to realize you’ve over-committed yourself once again. I do it. I had gotten really good at saying no for a while, then for some reason I started saying yes again. And, you know what? I’ve found that the more I say yes, the more I say yes. It’s a problem. We’ve got to find a balance. It’s OK to say Yes on occasion but we really need to think about it first, look at our current commitments and really know whether that yes is a good idea.
10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Say Yes
– It is worthwhile to try. There are no guarantees, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying. Is where you are so great that you aren’t willing to risk making it better? Do you really need a guarantee that an effort will pay off? I agree that before you try some new therapy or cure in a bottle that you research it and have confidence that it’s going to work. Don’t throw your money away on “cures”, and there are plenty of them. But, there are things you can do that cost you nothing but a time and effort and those are worth doing, because really… why not?
There are no guarantees, but that doesn't mean it's not worth trying. Share on X– You deserve a better life! – Yes YOU! You don’t deserve a life of chronic illness. You didn’t do anything to deserve where you are, to deserve pain or fatigue. You do deserve a better life. So, why not do what you can to make it happen?
You don't deserve a life of chronic illness. You deserve a better life. #chronicillness Share on X
You’ve got this. You can turn the negative thinking around and start fresh. No matter what is happening right this second, there’s another second coming, and another minute, and another day. You’ve got so many more chances and things can get better.
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Becky says
SO needed to hear these!!