Be Careful of Your Thoughts

Today I am grateful for competent and thorough medical professionals. I am also grateful for pizza and a quiet house.

Consider this quote:

"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought." 

(Peace Pilgrim)

If I had only known the truth of that statement at a much younger age, I might have spared myself some years of torment. Indeed, we are what we think. We. Are. What. We. Think.

And I wish I could say that all negative thoughts have been banished from the kingdom known as Lisa's brain, but that is not the case.

What I can say with absolute conviction however is that ever since I started actively practicing gratitude, the negative thoughts have had much less of the upper hand than they used to. Some days they have no hand at all and can't grab on to the corners of my mind and start multiplying. 

My brain has been trained to look for good, to find blessings, to perceive myself and the world around me more gently and with acceptance.

Just like a body can get out of shape and unhealthy, so can a brain. Let the training continue. Consider an A-Z gratitude list, written down or just gone through in that brain of yours. Get yourself a gratitude journal and start a list of a few things you are grateful for each day or each week. Sit in a room in your home and look around at what you are thankful for in that space. Write a thank you note or gratitude letter to someone and drop it in the mail.

Minimize the negative by multiplying the positive.