"The Power of Unpacking your Thoughts" by C. Preston

Has this ever happened to you???????

It's late at night, and suddenly you awake with your mind racing. Thoughts start to play out different stories in your head.

*First Thought*....What if I have a bad day at work tomorrow?

*Second Thought*...Why am I still alone?

*Third Thought*....How can I afford all my debt this month?

You think more, and the energy gets more powerful. There seems to be a rush of heat and blood to the top of your forehead...

How do I stop this and get back to sleep you ask yourself? The answer is something simple yet so extraordinary in nature.

"Unpacking your Thoughts" is exactly what it sounds like. Except you do it vocally out loud, this is where you have much more control to both understand and reprogram negative thought patterns.

Inside your mind, there is an oceanic jet stream of thoughts flowing continuously, and it's almost impossible to calm down the surge of thoughts once the nervous system is aroused.

But when you identify the thoughts that are bothering you most and extract them from inside your head.

You actually take your power back. Think about it this way.. When you speak to your friends in a social gathering.. You're controlling what you're saying to them, right?

The very words you say to others outside of your mind lay the foundation for your relationships, and what your loved ones think and feel about you.

But we fail to see that the most important relationship is not external, rather it is the connection with ourselves that needs the most focus.

You can not pour an empty glass of love to those you care about when you do not show yourself compassion first.

Many of us are carrying a heavy burden of emotional pain around us on our journey of life.

This pain, unfortunately, programs our minds to think lesser of ourselves. This is where internal abuse manifests, and thus your negative thoughts continue to transform the perception of who think you are.

But when you start extracting these vicious thought patterns outside of your mind and bring them into your conscious awareness.

You can begin the process of questioning yourself out loud, are these thoughts true, and is this way of thinking helping my quality of life???

When we question with curiosity, we bring clarity to what is actually transpiring within.

We find the answers that evaded us for so long, because inside it can feel so overwhelming and perilous at times.

Here is the exercise:

Step 1) Identify - what thoughts are hurting you, look for inflammatory situations in your life from the present or past, and bring them to your front site focus.

Step 2) Unpack - the thoughts that you now have identified, and vocally say out loud...

"These thoughts are hurting me, and I want to understand why that is?"

Step 3) Dissect - Question these thoughts with a compassionate perception. Just as you are kind to your loved ones, treat yourself like a best friend. There is actually a science behind this that will reset what you think of yourself, and bring you back to the "Path of Peace".

Ask exploratory questions like...

1) Are these thoughts true?...

2) Is there a different way of looking at this story that can be beneficial?..

3) What can I learn from this story playing over & over in my mind?..

Step 4) Reframe - Yes this pain is uncomfortable, but is there something that has happened due to this that has benefited your life post-event? Maybe that toxic relationship led you to your soul mate, perhaps that depression sent you on a journey of self-discovery?

When we reframe the pain as not just bad but look at the other side of it, we remove ourselves from a victim mentality and move towards becoming a seeking of authentic truth.

The curiosity of the internal workings of your mind will be your compass out of the emotional pain you're subjected to.

Meeting the negativity inside with compassion and an open mind outside will bring you back into the reality of the present moment.

This is how we move away from living and feeling in the past while building a relationship with the most important person in this world, YOU!

You're loved by yourself.. We just have to "Unpack our Thoughts" to find this truth.

#mentalhealth #trauma #selflove #selfawareness