In my youth I found myself having to grow up at a very young age (fifteen to be exact), because of circumstances beyond my control. During this time, I moved around A LOT, living with friends and family off and on. I found myself scrambling to finish high school. Now, I did not lack motivation to go to school, but instead I was missing my support network to get me there. But, despite all of these road blocks, I was able to get myself through this time in my life with little help. I look back now and wonder how in the world I got through it. I see my younger self in survival mode, somewhere I had the will and the motivation to not let my situation get me down.

When faced with adversity, how do we respond? Why do we respond the way we do? As an adult these questions have been in the forefront of my mind, I have spent years soul searching and discovering who I truly am. The person I have become is pretty solid, and without my past experiences I would not be the person I am, for this I am thankful. We all have family, and sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s not so great. But, even with all of my family struggles, positivity and motivation were instilled in me. Regardless of the troubles we had, I remember my mom teaching me the power of positive thoughts and believing in my abilities.

What has stuck with me most is the value of positive thinking. Our thoughts are so powerful; they are an untapped source for us as human beings and are being underutilized. If it weren’t for this core value being instilled in me at an early age, I would not have been able to get myself to driver’s ed classes on my own by riding my bike there, or find a way to continue dancing by teaching classes so I could pay for my own dance classes. All of these things I listed above I did from the age of 15 to 17 years old, mostly on my own.

Another influence for me, was ballet. Learning the discipline of ballet taught me how to work hard, be patient and believe in my abilities. I am grateful to be able to teach ballet today and I am more passionate than ever! It brings me great joy to be able to bring the positive aspects which ballet Benefits of Ballet has to offer to my students. Learning any kind of discipline Self Discipline provides so many benefits!

Our thinking as a society is distracted, stressed, confused, sad, anxious…the list could go on and on.

But we have a choice…

We have the choice to choose our thoughts, we are in control of the thoughts coming into our mind, which means, we can change them. Change Negative Thinking We can choose to redirect our thoughts to peace, happiness, meditation, joy, love, laughter!!! Keeping our old thinking patterns is so stressful! Let’s change them! No more excuses, learn to be in control of what you think.

We place so much emphasis on our physical body and forget about what goes on inside…we forget about our mental health. Mental health as human beings is just as important as our physical health. The effects of anxiety and stress How Worrying Affects Your Body are often unseen symptoms and can wreak havoc on our bodies.

“I think therefore I am”-Renee Descartes Renee Descartes

Over the years I have found some easy ways to pay attention to my thoughts. Now, I am no expert, I only speak from my own trial and error. Start loving your mind and nurturing it the same way you nurture your body. There are so many benefits of positive thinking and cognitive therapy. It’s time we get rid of the stigma that comes along with our mental health. Our thoughts will always be a part of who we are. Nurture and love your whole body including the unseen elements of the mind.

Here are 4 simple steps I have found to track and change habitual thinking patterns.

1. Keep A Daily Thought Log– It may be as simple as an app on your phone or if you like writing on a tangible thing like a small notebook, go for it! There are some great cognitive therapy sites Cognitive Therapy with wonderful information on how to record thoughts. Recording thoughts will help you catch any habitual thinking patterns and triggers.

2. Watch For Patterns & Triggers– Now that you are keeping a log of your thoughts, it will be easier for you see patterns arise or situations which trigger a certain thought response. Being able to identify these thoughts Change Toxic Thinking brings an awareness to them which prompts the change in your thinking.

3. Record Your Body Response– Also, with logging thoughts, you will be able to see how your body responds to a negative thought process, or even a happy one. I was amazed at how much my thoughts were affecting me. When a thought came into my mind which caused anxiety, I immediately noticed a response in my body. Once I started to identify the thoughts and situations causing my body to respond, I was able to form better thinking habits. As a result, this change prevented my thoughts from taking over how my body was feeling.

4. Replace The Old Negative Thoughts With New Positive Thoughts! – This is actually harder than it sounds. When you are able to identify the habitual thinking patterns causing you grief (from your thought log) start to replace the habitual thoughts with new positive thoughts.

Write them down!!!

I know this seems daunting but writing them down will expedite the process of changing your thought patterns. You can write them on a little note card and keep them in your purse or pocket for instant thought transformation. Or you can put them in your phone, whichever is easiest for you!

I am challenging my readers to try this for one week. Find your habitual thinking patterns holding you back and keeping you from happiness or even purpose. Our mind is a very powerful thing, but it is OUR mind, which means we are in control of what comes and goes.

Stop…slow down…pay attention…and love yourself.

Create the joy and happiness in your life by re-creating your thoughts! Happy thinking!!!