Funny motivational speaker Amy Dee’s blog on stress,
Don’t let your thoughts stress you out.
“I hope they have fresh fruit left. Will there be flour so I can bake this week? What if mom or my kids get the coronavirus?” I think while on my way to the grocery store. I’m not even there yet, and I am already worried about what I will find. It’s nuts!
We continuously have conversations in our heads. Conversations inside ourselves happen almost non-stop, all day long, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We think about stuff while in our car, in line at the grocery store, and while making dinner. We have thoughts while writing blogs.
Thoughts are just thoughts, they are not reality. But, because we think so much, we sometimes forget that thoughts are not real. We tend to take our notions seriously, treat them as reality, and this false narrative creates unnecessary stress.
Thoughts are just thoughts. They have no power on their own. They only have the energy that you assign to them. You give power to your ideas by reacting to them as though they are real.
Because of the coronavirus, Steve and I are staying home much as possible. I’d heard that grocery store shelves were emptying, so on my way to the grocery store, I started dreading shopping, thinking, “They probably won’t have the items I want to buy. The shelves are most likely empty.”
As these thoughts travel through my mind, I have two distinct choices.
I can take them seriously and start worrying even further. “What if this isolation carries on for weeks? Will all the stores be empty? What if my elderly mom, my adult kids, or my husband gets sick? How will I help them? What if ALL my speaking jobs are postponed?”
Or, I can just let the thoughts come and go. Not pay much attention to them. Not take them so seriously. Seriously, I haven’t even stopped at the first grocery store yet!
This doesn’t mean I will find everything at the grocery store. It doesn’t mean that someone I love won’t get the coronavirus. But makes no sense to create drama before anything happens. It’s pretty dumb, but we do it all the time, all day long. Thought after thought trips through our head, and we forget that they are only thoughts. Instead, we act like our thoughts are real.
Next time you get stuck caught up in the spiral of negative thoughts, just catch yourself and say, “Oh yeah, I’m caught up in the old thought-storm again.” Just remind yourself that thinking doesn’t make it real.
The grocery store had plenty of stuff to buy.
Don’t take your thoughts so seriously.
Become more Resilient, use this link to Amy’s Resilience resource guide, A Resilience Resource Guide
