I Deserve It

TODAY'S MOTIVATION

Today's motivation to stay healthy is simply because I deserve it.  Once in a while I just have to remember that I am worthy of being healthy and happy. That's all. 

RANT OR RAVE

You know what I hate? Debbie Downers. You know, those people who always have something negative to say. The people who are always predicting failure or focusing on the problem. These people like to be the victim.  They spend all their time worrying about what others are doing to them. They have a learned helplessness that always gets in the way of being able to take control of their own lives.  They are not happy for other people and often times they try to make others around them miserable.  They only see the problem, not the solution.  Often times they think in terms of black and white, and forget that there is often a grey area. They give off a sense to everyone that they are powerless. 

I bring this up not to complain about anyone in particular, but more because I want to make a point that a lot of what happens to us in our lives is dependent on how we perceive things.  I am not a generally negative person, but I would have to say that I have definitely been guilty of having negative thoughts about myself in a way that has held me back in the past. That is why every day I write down a negative thought that I have and then change it to a more realistic, productive thought. It's like having a conversation with myself, and externalizing it, so that I can finally start to get rid of whatever distortions I have about myself and establish a better sense of self. 

The first step is to identify what thoughts we have that are not realistic by testing out the evidence of whether or not they are true.  For example, are you really a failure just because you did bad on one test?  Are you really worthless because you don't look like the women on the billboards? 

We all do it - we sometimes get stuck in unrealistic ways of thinking.  Some of them are patterns we have developed from a young age, others are a result of societal messages. I for one am going to continue to challenge these thoughts the best I can so that I can live a productive life.  And you know what? I have to say that the more I do this, the less self defeating thoughts I get. 

NOTE TO SELF