Although we recognize that plenty of good things happened in 2022, the start of a new year can be melancholy – sadness for the people who are no longer part of our lives, regret over mistakes or missed opportunities, self-criticism for goals left unfinished. It’s easy to let those negative thoughts overpower the good ones until we’ve ruminated into a funk.
But how about if we try something different this year?
How about if we tell those negative voices in our heads to
take a hike,
hit the road,
get lost,
vamoose,
make like a tree and leave,
get out of Dodge,
beat it,
call it a day,
make yourself scarce,
go fly a kite,
make like a banana and split,
buzz off,
take a powder….
You get the idea.
Pay attention to those negative trains of thought and derail them! Tongue in cheek, but no less accurate. You don’t have to be a slave to those critical, disapproving, judgmental voices in your head.
When you catch your brain trash-talking you, turn it off. Literally do something else – recite a positive affirmation, say a prayer for yourself or someone else, do a few jumping jacks or deep knee bends – whatever it takes to get your ruminating brain out of the rut it’s digging.
Because just like our brains can have negative ruts that keep us trapped, with practice, we can build positive ones that are even deeper.
So instead of beating myself up because I didn’t post enough on this blog, I’ll fixate on the articles and posts I got published elsewhere. Instead of regretting goals that didn’t come to fruition, I’ll focus on ones that did.
How about you? Can you reframe those negative thoughts about 2022 into positive ones?
I’ll answer that – yes, you can!
Oh my goodness, how I needed to hear this today. Thank you for sharing your faith and positivity. Hope all is well with you and your girls. Best wishes for a blessed New Year full of peace and joy. Take care, Anne-Marie, formerly of Lexington, now in St Petersburg
Hi Anne-Marie, so glad it helped you get through the day! I hope St Pete is treating you well. Your patients here will welcome you back in a heartbeat if not:)
Happy New Year to you too.
Yes! Yes! Turn those negative thoughts into positive thoughts. I open the front door each morning and say, “Thank you Lord for this glorious day.” Then, I go to my back door and do the same thing. 🙂 Happy New Year dear friend!
Thanks for reading! I love your idea – and when winter is over, I’ll try it 🙂
Happy New Year to you and Allen and all your gang!
YES! Just now able to read this, but defiantly something I needed to hear today!
Glad you got to read it, Abby. I hope this new year is a great one for you!
I am thankful to be able to read your wonderful words. You are an amazing person and I have been blessed to know you.
Susan, good to hear from you! I hope you are well and have a blessed Easter!
Colleen,
Thank you for continuing to spread your light!! May our 2023 be filled with more positivity than any year prior. May we all be filled with more joy and gratitude with each passing day of 2023. Our year won’t be absent the negativity because there is a lack of sad or difficult days, weeks, or months. But, it will be full of joy, contentment and positivity if we look outside of ourselves and into service and love of our neighbors. I am so grateful you have chosen to do that very thing and to pour your Christ -centered self into our lives!
Please continue to write! Blessings for 2023***
Hi Terry, somehow, I missed this comment at the beginning of the year, but your kind words are so sweet. Thank you for reading, and have a blessed easter!