Clarifying Thoughts

               “Know thyself. The unexamined life is not worth living”

                                                                                       ~ Socrates

 

~ Correcting Inaccurate Thoughts ~

 

See things, as they are… not worse.

Become the witness to the thoughts (internal dialogue). “You are not the voice in your head…you are the observer of the voice.”

The voice in your head is the ego…the ego is a pseudo reality. It’s a collection of consciousness created by our subjective perception of “our” world.

~ Emotional Awareness ~

Become aware of the emotions. (Thoughts-feelings-behaviors)

Stop using emotional reasoning.  

Intellect comes second to emotions.

We need to re-establish critical thinking with thoughts-feelings-actions.

Emotions are questionable and delude critical thinking.

~ Cognitive Distortions ~

Cognitive distortions are irrational thoughts that fuel your emotions.

Catastrophizing, all-or-nothing, overgeneralization, emotional reasoning, Fortune telling, and mind reading. 

 ~ Fighting Back ~  (Re-wiring the brain)

 Regain YOU!

 “We get what we settle for”

Disputing negative thoughts…correcting your thinking.  Awareness teaches you to make your mind work for you through critical thinking…not against you with emotional thoughts. Clarify and evaluate every thought.

Clarifying thoughts allows us to discern between what’s in our best interest, and what’s not. It’s important to note that our brain is indifferent to whether we have happy, meaningful lives. The main function of the brain is wired to have an insatiable appetite for survival and reproduction. This is a very important part of understanding behaviors when it comes to knowing who we are, and why we do what we do.

 

“The lives of many humans are governed by nothing more than the pleasure and pain that comes from the satisfaction and frustration of appetites. Appetites and reason are part of every human, but his or her character is revealed by which of the two dominates”

 

                                                                                    Aristotle

                                  

Privilege

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love” — Marcus Aurelius

                          

I’ve written before about my early morning walk and how it’s a blessing for the day.                 
(Early morning walk = fixed routine for my mornings)            

I’m up at 4:30, shower, make breakfast, and spend 10-15 minutes reading.  This sets in motion a calm, fueled, and purposeful beginning for the day.

“The way you do anything is the way you do everything”

Since that last blog, I have had many people ask what my choice of reading is. My reading predominately consists of non-fiction text pertaining to health, fitness, nutrition, psychology, philosophy, and neural science.                                                                                                                   

(I prefer the type of reading that creates gravitas within a person)

I would say my reading style is akin to Bible study… it's not a huge pile of books you never get to the end of, it's the repeated reading of small but important philosophical and scientific bodies of work. Books that remind you of things you've forgotten and want to change, noticing new things, reinterpreting old things in the light of new experiences, and a profound understanding in light of new scientific knowledge.

Re-reading a book is like stepping into a river…. You never touch the same water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again. People, like the river, are ever changing. Each time we read, we are not the same person who reads it again… therefore new knowledge/perspective is acquired on every reading.

We all have the same 24 hours in a day and we choose how we start it…so choose wisely. 

I promise you, the 10-15 minutes you set aside for your literary experience will not only add brightness to your day, but it will add peace, purpose and meaning to your life.

“Seize the day; enjoy the present, as opposed to placing all hope in the future”

 Carpe Deim