Our Thoughts Shape our Life

I had a very strange feeling today when I was running on the treadmill; I felt so excited, enthusiastic and full of energy, while 30 min earlier I felt uncomfortable, frustrated and lacking energy. My feelings at the gym were totally different from my feelings at home, and I wondered why? The difference in time between these feelings didn't exceed 30 min which is the time of the drive from my home to the club. I wondered how just going from one place to another could change my feelings from one extreme to the other. 

At home I felt weighed down and insignificant and I asked myself why I had this feeling? I realized that the house means housework, cooking, laundry and all the stuff that I don't like, and I believe it's useless to waste my time doing it every day. Recently I realized that my house is not the place where I love to stay to find peace and quiet any more. On the contrary, it's the place where I have to run from one room to the other cleaning and arranging; then rush to the kitchen for the dishes and the cooking and finally doing the laundry. I used to have a maid daily when I had a full-time job but after quitting my job I reduced it to two or three times a week. Since then I had the feeling that I am replacing her at home and this thought, I think, is the reason behind the feeling that I am weighed down. In addition, I tried to work from home but no one could accept the idea. They interrupt me all the time and want me to take care of them and finish my work as well. Everyone thinks that the short time they are interrupting me to ask for something is not that long. I am not a fan of multitasking, I like to do only one thing at a time until I finish it then move to the next one and of course these interruptions were extremely distracting to me. I tried to set boundaries but it didn't work.While at home, I was unable to achieve anything. With these two negative thoughts in mind; that I am replacing the maid and I will not achieve any progress in my business while working from home, I felt weighed down whenever I was home. 

Let me return to the feelings I had on the treadmill, excited, enthusiastic and energetic, why did I have these feelings? It's the sense of achievement that I feel when I am at the gym as my fitness level improves day after day. So the thought that came to my mind is I am achieving success in the area of fitness and not many are able to do that. I like my role of achiever at the gym; it brings me more self-confidence and a feeling of success. Concerning my business, I decided to have a place to work from, so I rented a room in an office and turned it into my own office. There I could have some peace and quiet; so finally I could work without interruptions. Now I feel more relaxed with the thought that I am moving forward in different areas of my life and achieving progress and that is exactly what I needed. 

I started to examine my feelings and my thoughts more closely. With the negative thoughts "I am replacing the maid" and "I am not achieving any progress" I felt unhappy, insignificant and frustrated but with the thought that I am achieving progress and success I felt excited, enthusiastic and energetic. What I wanted to highlight is that having negative thoughts and beliefs in mind can totally ruin our lives. We can change the negative thoughts by more positive ones to have more positive feelings. I will share with you some tips about how to replace negative thoughts and feelings with more positive ones in my next post. 
Please share with me what you think about that. Do you think that we can change our feelings about a certain situation by changing our thoughts? Did you go through similar experience? If yes what did you learn?

Gratitude, the way to happiness

Gratitude means being happy and grateful all the time. It's to accept everything as it comes, gratefully, peacefully, and contentedly. Mindset that's conducive to contentment and tranquilly. My life would be full of tranquilly, peace, and pleasure if I could learn to live it in thankfulness. It's like being in a dream world.

That first time my coach suggested that I keep a thankfulness notebook to help me shift my attention from what I perceive to be lacking in my life to what I already have, and how beneficial that proved to be, is still fresh in my mind. A lot of the graces I'd previously taken for granted became apparent to me all over again. One of the things that helped me better my relationship with my mum was the appreciation diary. I wrote in my thankfulness diary about how thankful I am to still have both of my parents around because of their love and support. In the end, when I considered all of the things for which I am thankful to my mother and father, I came to the conclusion that her criticism and meddling were really simply a way for her to show her interest and concern in my life. As a result of keeping a thankfulness book and adopting an appreciation viewpoint, my relationship with my mother has improved dramatically.

Living a life filled with appreciation requires effort and practise in order to become deeply ingrained. When you practise gratitude, you'll be more aware of the blessings you receive in every moment of your life. Imagine your life without it to appreciate the importance of the things you take for granted now. You may not have realised that having access to clean, fresh water anytime you need it is a blessing, but consider what your life would be like if you had to go to considerable lengths just to get a sip. Consider the possibility that everything you've come to rely on, including water, air, sunlight, your senses, your house, your family, your health, and so on, is gone. Imagine the impact this would have on your daily life. What will be the trajectory of your life? Then consider how you'll feel if they return one by one. Sure, you'll come to appreciate their worth.

You need to stop whining if you want to adopt a grateful outlook on life. Complaining reveals a lack of appreciation for what you have. You must observe yourself and consciously make the right choice to strengthen your gratitude, either gratitude and gain the satisfaction it brings and the positive energy it brings, or complaining and accepting its negativity while also causing harm to your health and your life to strengthen your complaint.