Spring Cleaning for the Mind
As we look forward to spring and summer, how do we prepare ourselves mentally to shift from old cluttered or negative thinking to an open and more positive thinking. A thinking that will help us to see ourselves in a better way and see new opportunities or ways to express ourselves and to be a better me. Well, we first have to do some spring cleaning on the mind. And to do that lets take a look at how our brain works.
The brain is wired to protect us, continually scanning for threats. Negative events stimulate the emotional processing area of the brain known as the amygdala. The more this area is activated, the more an individual will link emotion to certain events. Unexpected events can range from a slip and fall to life-altering events such as divorce, violent acts, or loss of a loved one.
That wiring can take some of the blame for negative thoughts or beliefs. The downside to this is if we connect these negative events to something we have done or something we have caused. The thought process can slowly shift to thinking “it’s MY FAULT”. This kind of thinking can make us vulnerable to fixating and creating a cycle of negative self-talk. If left alone, “negative self-talk or negative beliefs” will slowly cast an ever-widening shadow over several areas of a person’s life, which could cause life-long problems. One of the leading causes for negative self-talk or belief is Trauma. So, how do we start the cleaning process?
Here is an activity that has been adapted from “Three Good Things in Life” (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). At the end of the day try writing three things that went well and what part you had in your day going well. This will start breaking the cycle of thinking only of what went wrong each day. Another take on “Three Good Things in Life” is to answer the following questions:
What went well today? What part did I have in making the day go well?
What could I have done to make the day better?
What are at least three characteristics or abilities I like about Myself?
Cleaning out old ways of thinking takes time and work. But stay at it, and you will find it will make a difference in how you see yourself and how your view the world around you. By making this a part of a daily routine will help with the process of spring cleaning of the mind. We at Sound Health and Wellness are here to assist you in being your emotional best for the new season and all year.
Starting today make a commitment to think better about you. And to clean out old thinking. This will take time and work. And as this writer would like to say, a decision not to compromise. We need to look more closely at the word “compromise”. Hidden inside the word compromise is also the word promise. Which should remind you to never Break the “Promise” you made to yourself to do your spring cleaning of the mind.
“Our life is shaped by our mind, for we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.” – Buddha