kerstinne25
12th Jun '07 Tue, 21:54
"Feelings...Nothing more than feelings..."
An old line and patently incorrect.
One of our more prominent attributes as human beings is having emotions. We feel sad, glad or mad. Happy, angry, grouchy or joyful. Many believe that our emotions just are, period. We think that "We were made this way." We wake up on the right or wrong side of the bed and that dictates our day. We think we have no control on how we feel and just accept being miserable and negative as part of life - which may eventually make us depressed.
But God did not just make us "feeling" creatures only. He made man with willful thought. Though not as glamorous as emotion, this trait that can control the way we feel.
"When we direct our thought properly, we can control our emotions." - W. Clement Stone
In his book, Learned Optimism, How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, Dr. Martin Seligman explains that his research show that thinking about positive things actually change the way you feel, and that optimism can be learned (and pessimism can be unlearned.) He says "How you think about your problems, including depression itself, will either alleviate or aggravate it."
Try thinking of good things, fun things, positive things. Observe its effects on you. You will notice a marked improvement in your overall mood. Do this daily. Do this often and you'll see your days getting much brighter and life getting more pleasant. Your circumstances may not have changed much but your thinking has allowed you to respond in a better way.
When you think negative thoughts, the body produces cortisone in the brain which hinder your natural ability, reflexes, and general condition . Do you know that your are weaker and your brain functions at less than optimum when you are in a state of disorder inside? No wonder we make more mistakes when we are in a foul mood.
In contrast, thinking good thoughts produces chemicals called serotonin that enhances overall mental and physical conditioning. Athletes we admire are aware of this fact. They call it "being in the zone," when you can do nothing wrong, when everything seems perfect. You might have experienced this at least once in your life, when you felt that you were life Superman.
One of the most effective way of developing a positive mental attitude is by praying with expectant faith, asking the Holy Spirit for a double portion of God's grace.
Having negative thoughts and feelings is normal. Unpleasant things happen to all of us and these are just natural reactions. It becomes a problem when we continue to dwell in misery and let our minds blow an event.out of proportion Feeling "negative" emotions is a result of these thoughts. This type of thoughts and feelings have their place in your life but should never rule you.
If you feel blue, think happy thoughts.
Remember: It's not just about what you feel, it's what you think!
"The discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life by altering the attitude of his mind" - William James
Thanks and God bless.
Jun Asis. C3PO
MabutingBalita.net (http://www.mabutingbalita.net)
MagandangBalita.com (http://www.magandangbalita.com)
PS:
Positive thinking and willful thought have health benefits, too. When I was in high school, a wart grew on my left knee. It was about 6 millimeters in diameter and I knew it would not stop a that size. I would intentionally scrape it in the hopes of making it grow. I came across a book that recommended nitric acid. Since I had access to our chemistry lab, I placed three drops. The wart was gone but in its place was a black-burned painful wound of the same size. When it healed, the wart grew back. Then I came across a magazine story which advised: "just thinking about it (the wart) to disappear will do the trick. After about thinking it, the wart slowly began to disappear until it was totally gone. Amazing!
An old line and patently incorrect.
One of our more prominent attributes as human beings is having emotions. We feel sad, glad or mad. Happy, angry, grouchy or joyful. Many believe that our emotions just are, period. We think that "We were made this way." We wake up on the right or wrong side of the bed and that dictates our day. We think we have no control on how we feel and just accept being miserable and negative as part of life - which may eventually make us depressed.
But God did not just make us "feeling" creatures only. He made man with willful thought. Though not as glamorous as emotion, this trait that can control the way we feel.
"When we direct our thought properly, we can control our emotions." - W. Clement Stone
In his book, Learned Optimism, How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, Dr. Martin Seligman explains that his research show that thinking about positive things actually change the way you feel, and that optimism can be learned (and pessimism can be unlearned.) He says "How you think about your problems, including depression itself, will either alleviate or aggravate it."
Try thinking of good things, fun things, positive things. Observe its effects on you. You will notice a marked improvement in your overall mood. Do this daily. Do this often and you'll see your days getting much brighter and life getting more pleasant. Your circumstances may not have changed much but your thinking has allowed you to respond in a better way.
When you think negative thoughts, the body produces cortisone in the brain which hinder your natural ability, reflexes, and general condition . Do you know that your are weaker and your brain functions at less than optimum when you are in a state of disorder inside? No wonder we make more mistakes when we are in a foul mood.
In contrast, thinking good thoughts produces chemicals called serotonin that enhances overall mental and physical conditioning. Athletes we admire are aware of this fact. They call it "being in the zone," when you can do nothing wrong, when everything seems perfect. You might have experienced this at least once in your life, when you felt that you were life Superman.
One of the most effective way of developing a positive mental attitude is by praying with expectant faith, asking the Holy Spirit for a double portion of God's grace.
Having negative thoughts and feelings is normal. Unpleasant things happen to all of us and these are just natural reactions. It becomes a problem when we continue to dwell in misery and let our minds blow an event.out of proportion Feeling "negative" emotions is a result of these thoughts. This type of thoughts and feelings have their place in your life but should never rule you.
If you feel blue, think happy thoughts.
Remember: It's not just about what you feel, it's what you think!
"The discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life by altering the attitude of his mind" - William James
Thanks and God bless.
Jun Asis. C3PO
MabutingBalita.net (http://www.mabutingbalita.net)
MagandangBalita.com (http://www.magandangbalita.com)
PS:
Positive thinking and willful thought have health benefits, too. When I was in high school, a wart grew on my left knee. It was about 6 millimeters in diameter and I knew it would not stop a that size. I would intentionally scrape it in the hopes of making it grow. I came across a book that recommended nitric acid. Since I had access to our chemistry lab, I placed three drops. The wart was gone but in its place was a black-burned painful wound of the same size. When it healed, the wart grew back. Then I came across a magazine story which advised: "just thinking about it (the wart) to disappear will do the trick. After about thinking it, the wart slowly began to disappear until it was totally gone. Amazing!