“Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power.” ~Shirley MacLaine
Earlier this week a friend and I were talking about choices and how the statement “I want to do something” is quite different from “I choose to do something.” That particular conversation was related to weight loss and that what we eat is a choice but the reality is that each day there are a multitude of choices that might include what time I will get out of bed, what I will wear, what will I do, in addition to what I will eat.
Later that night it occurred to me that what I think is also a choice. That each time I am stressed, replaying some event that happened at work, or worrying about what might happen, each one of those thoughts that causes me to be unhappy or feel bad or worry is a choice. And if those thoughts are a choice, I can choose to think about something else. Sounds simple doesn’t it?
So that’s the challenge: To choose to think about something pleasant, happy, comforting, reassuring, positive and not dwell upon the negative.
