If you want to be somebody else, change your mind.

A journal exercise

‘Mental Health’, is a big topic these days and I don’t feel equipped to engage with that topic.

Yet, I have these two quotes and an exercise to share, the exercise in particular has helped me overcome anxiety and panic attacks and really transformed my life. So I’m sharing what I have. If this topic is too heavy for you though, feel free to stop reading here. 🧠❤️

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Two quotes on what thoughts are:

A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of his thoughts.

Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering it's fruits.

A noble and Godlike character is not a think of chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking.

Man is the master of thought, the molder of Character, the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny.

-As a Man Thinketh

Journal exercise : ‘thought pruning.’

1. Pick a thought you’d like to change, write it in the middle of a page and draw a circle around in.

   

2. Add 3 thoughts that support this

   

3. Now create 3 new versions of the supporting thoughts

   

4. On a new page redraw this with only the supporting thoughts, and change the central thought accordingly

   

5. Repeat this for 30 days using the new thought central thought as a starting point, the changes can be small tweaks and refinements.

Thoughts are more easy to manipulate outside our head. It could be worthwhile to examine and upgrade out thoughts, especially thoughts that hinder us and take up valuable real estate. This will free up more space for creative pursuits!