Detoxing your mind is a great way to become aware of your thoughts. In this blog, I will walk you through a simple process to become aware of unintentional thinking that’s interrupting your healing and growth.
Thought awareness strengthens your emotional health because what you think causes emotions that drive your reactions and results.
Most of the time we allow our minds to wander aimlessly. We think the brain is in full control. The problem is you don’t realize you can control and be intentional with your thoughts, emotions, behavior, and the results you’re getting in your life and health.
Most humans are unintentionally unconscious with their thoughts.
Our brain offers 60,000 to 70,000 thoughts a day!! It’s so fascinating how our brain creates thoughts without our conscious help.
One of the functions of the brain is to detect danger inside and outside the body. It’s wired to warn you about what it perceives as dangerous. This job resides with our primitive brain – the limbic system or lower brain.
Problem solving occurs in the prefrontal cortex. It’s like a computer system that we have the ability to program with our thoughts and emotions (pretty cool!).
We have the ability to control 1-5% of our brain. All that’s needed is awareness.
Detox your mind by paying attention and sorting your thoughts.
I coach using a thought model framework created by Brooke Castillo to analyze and change our thoughts. This framework isn’t anything new and based on the age old principle that what you think create your results.
Circumstances trigger Thoughts create Feelings drive Action(s) that create Results.
The result of your recovery or what happens for you in life is heavily impacted by your thoughts and emotions. Your result provides your brain with evidence that your thought is true and you feel terrible. If you’re not getting the result you want then your body remains in a non-healing state.
Remember the brain thrives on patterns and associations so it’s actively looking for what you’re thinking regardless if your result works in your favor or not.
Let’s start becoming aware and analyzing some thoughts you have.
First, write everything you have on your mind onto a piece of paper.
This process is called a thought download. Spend 10 minutes jotting down what your brain is thinking. Ask it what’s going on? What do you think about a specific circumstance (your health, a job, client, event, etc.)? Write the good, bad and ugly.
At first, a to to-do list may come up. Write it down. Pretty soon you’ll start to notice different thoughts bubbling up. Write them all down.
A thought download isn’t eloquent in style. A bulleted list in a notebook, on a scrap piece of paper, or a cocktail napkin will do.
Let’s prepare for analyzing those thoughts …
Circumstances are facts that we give interpretations to. Those interpretations are thoughts.
Circumstances are situations that can’t be disputed in a court of law. We can all agree you have a diagnosis for Lyme disease but not everyone will interpret that the same.
Sort through your thoughts. Most thoughts begin with I have/need to, I should, etc. These are our interpretations about a fact (fatigued, achy, Lyme positive, etc.).
Pick one thought that resonates the strongest for you to explore. Ask yourself, “why are you thinking this? What am I making the circumstance mean? Keep questioning until your brain no longer has an answer. That last thought is a limiting belief. It’s the thought that’s holding you back.
Time to analyze one thought.
On the left-hand side of a piece of paper, in a column write the letters: CTFAR.
On the C line, write down the circumstance triggering your thought. Remember, C’s are facts everyone agrees on.
On the T line, write down the thought selected from your thought download
On the F line, write down the emotions that you have when you think the thought
On the A line, write down how you react, what you do, and what you don’t do when you’re thinking the thought in the T line and feeling the emotions in the F line. [Note: Be sure to stay within that thought and emotion! We tend to jump into the positive because we don’t want to feel the discomfort. Stay with it! It’s so worth it to understand the power of thoughts]
On the R line, write down the result of your thinking, feeling, and reaction.
That result provides the brain with evidence that your thought is true. The brain will continually offer this thought because it has proved it’s true.
So, do you want to keep that thought you’re thinking?
Thoughts are optional. You have the power to change thoughts you no longer want.
Intentional thinking is where you get results you want and love.
Create an intentional thought to get the result you want.
Start with the R line. What result do you prefer? Write that down.
Ask yourself what you need to do to get that result. Write them down in the A line.
Ask yourself how you need to feel to take Action to get your Result. Write that down in the F line.
Ask yourself what thought will help you create the feelings to take action to get your result.
Voilá, you have a new thought.
Use better thoughts to create what you want.
Take your new thought and say it out loud. Write it down on post-it notes. Place on your monitor, mirror, dashboard in your car, and wherever you will see it. Schedule reminders on your phone. Say it out loud when you do!
Give yourself the gift of self-coaching.
Sorting and examining your thoughts detox your mind to bust down those limited thoughts preventing healing from chronic fatigue.
Decide to be intentional with your thinking so you help your body relax into a healing state.
Gift yourself with a daily 10-minute practice of thought downloads and modeling.
Inner peace and healing begins with awareness of unintentional thinking to create intentional thinking, healing, and results.
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