Lately I’ve been reflecting on the power of choice. For many years I chose to seek out what was wrong in my life – what I thought was missing, what I wasn’t good at, and what I wasn’t doing enough of.

About five years ago, I decided this way of thinking wasn’t serving me or who I wanted to be. As a result, I started on a journey to change my thoughts, my attitude, and my choices.

We often take on examples we have in our lives as part of our identity- this could be views or choices from our parents, our partner, our close friends, or our siblings.

With gratitude for these people and what they’ve taught us, we have the freedom to choose what we take on in our own lives.

Once I made the decision that focusing on the negative didn’t feel right or good, I put energy into what could work and what was possible. This was not an overnight process and is still something I work on regularly. Choosing optimism has changed my life for the better.

What exactly is a thought that doesn’t serve you?

This is a great question and we each have the power to determine the answer. When you have a recurring thought in your life that doesn’t make you feel good, ask yourself if it’s serving you and how you want to live. If the answer is no, reverse the thought.

Here are a few examples of thought reversal:

• From “I don’t want to go to work today” to “I am looking forward to [fill in the blank with something you’re looking forward to] at work today.”
• From “I don’t have enough time to exercise” to “I will create time to exercise.”
• From “I’ll never get promoted” to “I will design a plan with my boss to work towards a promotion.”
• From “I hate the work I’m doing” to ” I’m talking to a variety of people in different professions to learn more about what they do to see what piques my interest.”

The intention of the reversal is to provide you with opportunity and choice. It’s important that the new thought still feels authentic to who you are at your core.

Thought reversal on thoughts that don’t serve me has given me freedom, opportunity, and a life I’m excited about.

We each have the power to choose what we think and to make a conscious decision about what we want to change.

“A stumbling-block for the pessimist is a stepping stone for the optimist.” – Eleanor Roosevelt