I’ve really changed my thinking this year

Before, I was very self-critical,

A perfectionist

When things didn’t go right

I’d often blame myself

Worrying about stuff I couldn’t change

 

I got caught in this cycle of bad thinking

And it affected my mood and my health

I’ve never been the best

It takes me a while to get things sometimes,

But instead of being encouraging and understanding to myself

I was often tearing myself down inside

“Why can’t I do this?!”

“What’s wrong with me?”

 

I began taking it out on other people

I became a person you wouldn’t want to be around

I was focused so much on school and work

That I barely gave any time to myself

I was spread too thin, and it showed

I was on thin ice.

 

As the months passed

I realized that I no longer took interest in things

I was so tired that I was on autopilot

Going through the motions of life

But not really there

 

I realized that even though each day was hard

There was a lot of good in it too,

If I could just focus on it

 

So that became a game to me

To find the good in each day

Some days it was tough to find,

But others it wasn’t

I began having GOOD days again

Simply by shifting my focus to the positives in life

Rather than the negatives

 

The things you think

The words you tell yourself

Have such a big impact on you

We become the thoughts we think

And the great part is

It’s never too late to change them

 

You’ve got to get in touch with your body

Find something that brings you peace in this crazy world

And do it

For me, it was exercise

 

I’ve always been very active, but this last year,

Moving from high school to college

I found myself without a sport for the first time in what felt like forever

I began hanging with friends more

Used the time for homework and work

And didn’t think anything of it

 

I began working out with friends and took a gym class

And that got me back into it

I was really out of shape

Things that used to come easy

Became a real struggle

But I pushed through it

Seeking that release

I knew came with working your body to its limit

And boy did it take the weight off my shoulders

 

I began attacking my workouts

Craving the peace and clear head that came with it

I found that the more I took on

The more I was able to do

As long as I balanced it out with rest or exercise

 

I became an entirely different person

A person you might actually want to be around

I began looking forward to my days

Keeping the thought in my head about how lucky I was to be here

Even while studying for a big test

Or working a long shift

 

We can’t just think, “Is this it?”

“Is this all I have to look forward to?”

Because that already sets us up in a negative mindset

We create our own happiness

Our world revolves around what we’re thinking and feeling

If we feed ourselves good thoughts

We’ll be good

It’s that simple

 

Now, what seems like such a small change

Has made a truly big impact on my life to come

I changed from wanting to become a nurse

To having a passion for physical therapy

Because in essence,

That’s what exercise is to me

Therapy

 

It’s taking a moment out of your day

To focus on something greater,

More big picture

It’s not the day to day things we need to focus on

But rather how good we have it in this life

And how best we can live it

 

Do you want to spend all your time worrying and being sad?

Or would you rather be happy?

Look within yourself

Find what makes you feel good

And do it

Don’t let that good feeling go

 

It’s all about changing your mindset

Looking at things from a different perspective

I’m in the same situation, nothing’s changed

But I’VE changed

And that makes all the difference