Hello Beautiful People!! Just one more day until this rather short week is over!
"When things change inside you, things change around you."
-Unknown
Let's go...
Thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are interconnected and influence each other. As a result of this, it can feel as if your thoughts cause your behavior. If you feel a surge of anger and then lash out at someone, it can feel as if you had no control over your response. If the feelings are fear or hurt, you might feel as if you had no choice but to retreat into solitude. But, the truth is, feelings and thoughts are not the cause of behaviors-we have the freedom to choose how we want to respond, even to the most painful memories, as long as we stay aware of how our thoughts and feelings are an influential factor of our actions.
The first step in unhinging the link between what you think and your behavior is to become aware of each of those things at the moment. When you feel the need to do something as a response to an emotion, try to identify the thought that preceded your urge to behave in a certain way. Thoughts can become very automatic and even unconscious, however, with practice, you can learn to "capture" your thinking. Before acting, PAUSE. Take a deep breath and consider the consequences of your actions and possible alternative ways to respond. Just taking a small pause can introduce a whole range of alternatives, many of which may be healthier, more productive than your first impulse.
Because thoughts' feelings and interactions are all connected, if you make a change in one area, changes will follow in the others. As you change your thinking, your emotions and behaviors will also change. If someone says something that may feel offensive to you, you will think "I am being disrespected" of course you will get angry and may even verbally lash out at the person. In unique circumstances such as this person being your boss (as an example), the consequences would have been no bueno. But taking a moment to pause and consider alternative reasons for his or her behavior (bad day, or misinterpretation) you will more than likely react in a more thoughtful, less destructive manner. If you change what you do, it will impact your thoughts and feelings.
If you are having negative thoughts, feeling restless which then feeds frustration, going outside, (masked up please!) taking in the sun, and the outdoor air for a while may facilitate a shift in both your mood and thought pattern; The pause, then shift will have amazing benefits.
Remember thoughts are what we think, behavior is what we do, emotion is what we feel.
