Spring Clean Your Mind

What thoughts do you need to let go of?

Self Criticism – When you find yourself practicing negative self criticism, try to balance the negative thoughts with positive things. Go from, “I ate too much today” to “I will eat better tomorrow”. Eventually you may find that you become much nicer to yourself.

Judgement – Judgement can be to self, see self criticism above or it can be to others. When we judge others we may be trying to fit in, if you find yourself doing this, ask yourself why?

Remember that judgement isn’t kind and you have no idea what the other person has gone through. You also shouldn’t judge a book by its cover because you could really miss out on something special.

Regrets – When you have a regret that you can’t stop thinking about, the first thing you want to ask yourself is, “Can I do anything about it?”

Is it something you said to someone, can you reach out and apologize? DO it immediately.

Was it a thing you quit or didn’t try? DO it now.

If it was something you did that you can’t take back, say to yourself out loud when the regret comes to mind, “I can’t live in the past, I can only live in the present moment, I grow from mistakes and am better for them.”

Rumination – When you have thoughts that you repeat in your mind over and over again it can wear you down and if the repetitive thoughts are regret see those suggestions above.

If the rumination is worry, say to yourself out loud when the worry comes to mind, “I can’t live in the future, I can only live in the present moment”. If there is an action you can take now, go ahead and do it, if not, just be in the now.

When you find yourself in one of these cycles try to practice mindfulness. If you focus on being where you are, smelling those smells, hearing those sounds, you can break away from rumination. This takes practice.

Fear – Fear can be perfectly healthy especially when it keeps you safe from danger. But it can also hold you back from doing things that are scary but aren’t actually dangerous, things like, taking that trip, asking that question, starting that business and stepping outside your comfort zone. 

Recognize where in life fear is holding you back and take the first steps. Tell yourself when fear starts screaming at you, “I can do hard things, and I won’t die”.