When we have unresolved emotions that we don’t address, oftentimes they can manifest as negativity – negative thinking, negative self-talk, negativity towards others. When our negativity presents itself as negative self-talk, we not only feel bad about ourselves, we also tend to feel pessimistic about our recovery and about life in general. Our outlook becomes tainted by our negative self-image, and we see everything as inadequate, including ourselves. We might know that our negativity is impacting us in detrimental ways, but we’re not sure how to change our thinking. Our negative self-talk can be especially harmful because it’s informing everything we think and feel about ourselves, and therefore our lives. We’re manifesting with that energy of self-deprecation and self-hatred, and this can have disastrous consequences for our lives and our health. One powerful way to shift our negative self-talk is through gratitude.
Gratitude as An Everyday Practice
When we train our minds to focus on gratitude, we quickly and naturally become more positive, more optimistic, and more inspired because we’re turning our energy into blessings rather than lack, hopefulness rather than fear. We start to see the abundance all around us and within us. We’re reminded how fortunate we truly are, in so many different ways. We learn to develop self-love and to believe in ourselves. Even at our lowest point, we can find things to be grateful for – people who care about us, resources to turn to, a beautiful night sky, our higher power. It can feel like a stretch to seek out gratitude when we’re in a dark place when we feel depressed and inconsolable. We might feel like life has abandoned us, and we’ve been knocked down so much there’s nothing to be happy about or grateful for. When we’re in this place, that’s when gratitude is most important, so we want to give it a try and make it a regular practice for ourselves. It might not feel easy overnight, and we’ll have to give it time and energy and continue to practice, but soon enough we’ll feel the change internally. Once our inner perspective changes, our outer outlook can change as well, transforming everything about our lives, including the energy we use to manifest. This means the more grateful we are, the more we attract things into our lives that reflect that gratitude, the more we receive things to be grateful for.
It can be much harder to talk down about ourselves when we’re filling our minds with what we feel grateful for about ourselves. We become less concerned with our perceived flaws when we’re focused on being grateful for our strengths, gifts, and skills. We care a lot less about our supposed inadequacies when we’re busy being grateful for all the wonderful things about ourselves we have to be grateful for.
The Guest House is a welcoming and supportive recovery home where you will be met with open arms, wherever where you are on your journey, without judgment or expectation. Call 855-483-7800 today for more information.