Happy Positive Thinking Day!
One of my most un-favorite statements that occasionally roll off my client’s tongues is: “I can’t”.
I immediately interrupt that statement with, “I’m having difficulty” instead. 🙂
I like to say that your muscles can hear what you’re saying, and this mindset will make a huge difference in how you approach getting better from an injury (physical or otherwise).
I love watching long-time clients practically choke, trying to overcome that seemingly automatic response (“I can’t” …. to “I’m having difficulty”) to adversity.
Mindset is so fascinating.
Like all things, it requires practice.
So, how else can you positively spin a challenging situation?
I often speculate aloud …
“I wonder what the blessings are” in attempt to infuse a supposedly bad situation with more hopefulness. This also opens up the possibility that something that looks detrimental initially might actually be a great thing long term.
Think of: forest fires. Oregon had a devastating forest fire that burned a significant portion of our precious beautiful Columbia Gorge.
Two years later, the president of the Friends of the Columbia Gorge was interviewed, and he said it was the best thing for the forest and that it had done important things.
I was stunned. I had read of this phenomenon before, but didn’t think such devastation was applicable this time.
And yet…it was okay in the end.
That’s another one of my favorite sayings from an unknown author:
“Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”
If you need to get a little stress out so that you can think positively, I enjoy using a sand-filled medicine ball called the smash ball. It does not bounce, instead it only smooshes into the floor. So, you can throw it as hard as you’d like into the floor and keep doing that until all your stress is gone.
Look at that! You get stress gone AND you get a strength workout. Very satisfying!
My friend Margaret is visiting this week, and I made a video awhile ago of her using one. She is a big fan.
Have you tried it?
Here’s to balance, strength, and happiness,
🙂 Laura
