Create the life you want by learning to think on purpose…
When I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at 8 years old, I didn’t know what to think. I was terrified and in so much pain. For years I listened to doctors, teachers, friends and even family members tell me all the things I would never be able to do, about the person I would never be. I was so filled with self doubt. But I was also filled with resentment and anger. How dare these people try to tell me who I can be and what I can do. How dare these people who never accomplished what they wanted in their lives tell me I can’t do what I want to do and be who I want to be.
As hard as moving away and being on my own was, it was the best thing I ever did for my health. I moved away from those people who were polluting my mind with their limiting beliefs. It gave me the space to look inward. To start listening to myself in ways I never had before. That’s when I finally started to heal. That’s when I finally started creating the life I actually wanted.
I had so many negative thought patterns to break. One of my worst patterns had to do with bathroom stress from the second I opened my eyes. Mornings were the worst for me. My first thought, often before even opening my eyes, would be, “I’m not going to make it!” Leaping out of bed, feeling the panic flood my body. Followed by a series of thoughts like, “I’m going to die. I’m going to bleed to death.” That’s how my day started (and continued) every day for about 12 years. I was so beaten down by my thoughts. By the downward spiral that began before I was even awake.
Until I started challenging those thoughts. I had told myself every single day for over a decade that I was going to bleed to death and yet, I was still alive. Sure it took some blood transfusions but the point was that I hadn’t ever actually bled to death despite my daily assurances that I would.
The more I called bullshit on negative thought patterns, the more my health improved. The more I started consciously deciding what to think, the more my life improved. Instead of spending hours on the toilet thinking about death by bloody diarrhea, I started spending hours on the toilet with my notes and textbooks. I decided to focus my attention on what I wanted (a degree in animal biology) instead of what I didn’t want (to go out on the toilet like Elvis). After several years of working at this (and making other changes in my life), I not only got that degree but I also went into medication-free remission. I got what I wanted and I got something I thought would never be possible. Something that doctors had told me would never happen, that it wasn’t possible for me.
Don’t let someone else’s doubt hold you back. Think your own thoughts and think them on purpose!!
If you would like to work on breaking your negative thought patterns and start creating the life you want, schedule a complimentary life coaching consultation!
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