Thoughts—and the statements that follow—are far more powerful than we might think. How many of you have said negative statements like, “This job is killing me,” This statement has set the stage for some very powerful emotions. “This job is killing me,” could evoke emotions like despair, sadness, distress, overwhelm, etc., and we would believe the emotions to be valid, right? But what if we had a chance to change that? What if the emotions we were feeling were wrong?

“Wrong” might not be completely accurate, but let’s dissect this for a minute. We tend to believe our feelings, BUT our thoughts come before our feelings. So let’s go back to, “This job is killing me.” This thought created a VERY grim view of our current job situation, correct? And it may be accurate, but what if we had a different thought? What if we said, “This job is growing and challenging me like no other job,” or “This job is getting me to finally see my true worth.” These new thoughts are far more empowering then, “This job is killing me.” Thoughts matter and we get to pause and craft the thought we want to be repeating, and then the feelings that we really want will follow.

So think of a negative thought you repeat daily—is it about your job, your relationships, your weight, your intelligence, your finances, etc? Take that negative thought and reframe the thought. You may think this is semantics, but your body is responding viscerally to EVERY negative thought you think. You might think you can’t control your thoughts, but that is 100% not true. Thoughts come first, then feelings. If you want to FEEL better, then change your thoughts. It’s that simple. You’re in control at ALL times.

With Gratitude,

Beth