Beets and Blueberries
Earlier this week, I had a snack of beets and blueberries. The blueberries came first, and then I enjoyed a few slices of beet. I felt satisfied but decided to cleanse my palate with a few blueberries. Immediately afterward, I noticed that I felt hungry again. How strange! I can’t tell you exactly why this happened, but I can you I won’t be following beets with blueberries again.
I shared this interesting observation with a friend of mine, and she suggested that “beets and blueberries” sounded like the title of one of my blogs, so as I drove home, I considered what the related message would be.
Fairly quickly, I was reminded that just as it’s important to put healthy foods into our bodies, it’s important to put healthy, life-giving thoughts into our minds.
Too often I observe clients and friends and myself entertaining negative thoughts – as if it’s no big deal.
So what, I called myself a dummy. I do it all the time.
We got stuck in traffic … it was a disaster.
Today’s going to be a long day, I can already tell.
While we are not able to stop all negative thoughts from coming into our minds, we do have a choice in how we respond to them. We can embrace them and hang out like old pals, or we can let them float on by.
Did you know that your brain responds to stimuli similarly – regardless of whether it comes through your optic nerve (i.e., from something tangible that you see) or from your imagination (i.e., something you think)???
Thoughts and mental visualizations cause physical changes in our brains. The more these are repeated, the more the experience is etched into our brains. Our brains will then work to resolve the cognitive dissonance – that is, the difference between where we are now and what we imagine or think.
For example:
where we are now = not a dummy vs.
what we imagine or think = a dummy
Over time, our brains will work to make our thoughts become a reality.
So, our thoughts do matter. In fact, they matter very much.
What thoughts are you going to let feed your mind today?
From the blog
By now, I hope you have created a list your money scripts. (If not, please start with the first entries in this series … 1, 2, 3.). Perhaps you are even continuing to add to your list as you discover new ones. Great! Let’s start working on them.
Look over your list. What themes do you [...]
Financial Therapy 101: Money Scripts (part 2)
Apr. 27, 2010 No Comments
Step 1: Identify your Money Scripts
Money Scripts are the automatic thoughts we have in regards to money.
Here’s another exercise to help you “stir the pot” and continue to gather evidence as to what your relationship with money is like. (Remember: “Money” refers to all types of financial / material means.)
Exercise 3: Sentence Completion (Remember not [...]
Financial Therapy 101: Money Scripts
Apr. 17, 2010 2 Comments
We cannot change a reality we deny exists, so if you want to enhance your relationship with money, you must first know what it presently is. In this and the next post, I’ll introduce you to simple exercises you can use to “stir the pot” and begin to gather evidence as to what your relationship [...]
More »Financial Therapy 101
Apr. 6, 2010 3 Comments
First, a little background ….
I started out my professional life as a CPA working in the field of wealth management. Through that work, I realized that we each have a relationship with money – and this relationship drives not only our financial choices but also our day-to-day life choices. It is like a mirror to [...]
Sunny With a High of 75
Mar. 15, 2010 2 Comments
There’s a song by Relient K called High of 75. It’s been a favorite of mine ever since it came out a few years ago. I was reminded of this song today as I stepped outside and felt invigorated by the beautiful blue-sky, spring-like weather day.
I like High of 75 for at least two reasons [...]
For the Love of a Sauna
Mar. 2, 2010 1 Comment
I’ll share with you a little known fact – most of my blog entries are written in a sauna. Yep! My husband says I’m “baking like a potato,” and I love it. It’s one of my “happy places.”
One reason is because I know it’s good for me. My tolerance for the heat has built up [...]
