Do not believe everything you think
We have a tendency to perceive our thoughts as reality. Yet our thoughts do not necessarily reflect our true reality because the thought we have about a situation is always based on a personal choice. Even when we make this choice unintentionally. The thought we pick sparks an emotion, and emotions are strong drivers of actions we feel compelled to take. Once taken, these actions shape the path we create for ourselves in life.
Every thought we pick is optional.
Every thought we pick is optional. This sentence changed my life because it made me realise that I alone decide how I want to think about certain situations and that this is how I am creating the life I live.
To illustrate this in an example: my father and his five siblings were raised on a farm in catholic Austria. For the longest time I chose to think of this place as special: a farm in a remote village in Austria, dear to my dad and my entire family, a catholic wayside shrine right next to the paved way leading up to the entrance. In the last twenty years, my father, his two brothers and three sisters came to pass. Last summer I visited my uncle, who was still alive then but already severely ill, at his farm to say Good-Bye. Before I left I had this heart-breaking thought that this special place was now lost to me forever. My husband caught my gaze shortly before we drove off – and offered a calm suggestion in the perfect moment: What if it were something really special about those people, my father and his brothers and sisters? What if the place never mattered that much? What if the fact that I was raised with so much love by my dad and that I got to spend many sunny hours with my dad and his family at that farm were enough? What if my mother who is still alive today and has loved my dad with courage and compassion shares some of these memories?
It only took me a short moment to reframe my thought. I think that there was something really special about my dad. I also think that there is something really special about my own choices and in the people who I choose to love. I also think that my kids will grow up knowing that their mom tries to make her decisions from a place of love. Not from a place of fear or loss.
What and who do you choose to love with courage and compassion this year? Conny and I are here to listen and offer our suggestions – if you like to connect with us, we are available: schedule a free discovery call.
Recommended Posts
