Your Thoughts Are Everything
After working with hundreds girls and women (and some guys, too) over the past few years, I’ve come to realize that the biggest obstacle to their health and happiness isn’t so much their diet, their exercise routine, their disordered eating, their body image issues, their hormonal issues, their perfectionism or being obsessed with worrying about every little thing… nope, it’s none of that. In fact, those are the results of something else going on…
What is all boils down to is their thoughts. That’s it.
One thing that I’ve been really into lately (which I used to be WAYY into back in the day and it seriously changed my life for the better), is the idea of how our thoughts create our reality.
I know this might sound a little woo-woo to some people, but it’s the truth. I’ve seen this play out in my own life time and time again and the more I learn about this and understand it, the more I’m able to apply these principles and truths to my own life and experience amazing results.
So, my goal with this blog post (and many more to come!) is to introduce this concept, build on it, and get you to apply it to your life in whatever way you see fit. I really hope it’s helpful (and easy to understand) because once you get a grasp on this, wow, your life will be so much different.
Maybe you’ve heard of “The Law of Attraction” before or “Positive Thinking” or something similar to that. There’s lots of different names for this concept, but at the very core of it, they’re all talking about the same thing. On a very basic level, it’s just the truth that our thoughts (no matter what they’re about, no matter if they’re good or bad or neutral or whatever) will attract us to other similar thoughts, attract us to people who think similarly, and attract us to corresponding circumstances and situations. This is the same “law” that brings certain people together who have the same interests, beliefs, dislikes, challenges, hobbies, passions, etc. Likewise, you’re going to attract whatever you think about, talk about, and focus on the most.
Basically, “like attracts like.” And again, this goes for EVERY. SINGLE. AREA. OF. OUR. LIVES. Positive thoughts will produce/attract more positive thoughts, just like negative thoughts will produce/attract more negative thoughts. Filling your mind with happiness and gratitude (for WHATEVER your situation is) will bring about more peace and joy. Just like filling your mind with a lot of anxiety and worrying will result in more unhappiness and overall stress. Basically you’re going to get what you think about, it’s that simple.
Your mind is a magnet and it’s going to follow wherever you take it (or let it take you!) - Which is a the most important thing to understand about all this. Why? Because this “law” is working all the time with everybody, but most people don’t even realize it consciously! They’re running on autopilot all the time, just letting their thoughts go all over the place.
BUT, the good news is, you can consciously tap into this and start giving DIRECTION to your thoughts, which will eventually lead you to where you really want to go and who you really want to be.
Let’s break it down and use a simple example:
There’s two girls who are best friends, Susie and Debbie. Both girls are trying out for the cheerleading squad at school and they are EQUALLY TALENTED and QUALIFIED for the position - neither is any better than the other as far as skill, looks, etc. goes… but their mindsets and thoughts surrounding the whole thing are completely different.
First, Susie is stressed out about try-outs because she doesn’t think she’s good enough to win (although she’s actually super talented), she thinks she’s too ugly to be a cheerleader (although everyone around her tells her she’s beautiful all the time), she thinks she’s too fat (although she’s at a perfectly healthy weight for her body) - she just feels overall unworthy of ever succeeding in anything (because one time she failed an English quiz and she’ll never let herself forget it).
The "Get Your Period Handbook" has over 250 pages, answers over 100 FAQ's (about life, hormones, stress, diets, exercise, health, etc.), shares my own personal experience with regaining not only my period (twice!), but also both my mental and physical health when it comes to food and exercise; references numerous studies and research, has tons of real-life testimonials from girls I've worked with, 25 easy-to-make recipes, and lays out how to literally heal your body, fix your mind, and change your life for good.
Though this book focuses on getting your period, it would also be beneficial for anyone and everyone (even guys!) struggling with food and exercise issues.
Chapters include:
The Birth Control Pill
Why Am I So Bloated? + How to Fix It
Are you Addicted to Exercise? + Quiz
I LOVE to Exercise!
What Can We Learn from the Minnesota Starvation Experiment? + Disordered Eating During Puberty
Do You Have Orthorexia? + Quiz
Why Diets and Workouts Haven't Worked for You
Signs That Your Period is Right Around the Corner
Tips for Dealing with PMS
Best Foods to Get Your Period Back
Guard Your Mind! - The Power of Positive Thinking
Asking for Help
FAQ (hair loss, PCOS, binge eating, weight gain, depression, counting calories, etc.)
My Letter to You
Grocery "Must-Haves"
Recipes
**All sales are final and there is a strict NO-refund policy. I am not held liable for any health issues or health misfortune. Be sure to consult with a physician before starting any health or fitness routine. I am not a doctor, nor do I claim to be! I simply share my advice based off my personal experience, research, certifications, and the experience of others. Therefore, I will not diagnose you or treat you for any health conditions. You should always revert back to a qualified health professional when in question.
Get Your Period Journal
The “Get Your Period Journal”l goes along with the “Get Your Period Handbook.” While it is a journal, it’s also a workbook, too. The point of this journal is to get you thinking. To get all the thoughts out of your head and onto paper. Reading something is great, but really stopping and thinking, applying it to your life, and diving a little deeper is going to make this whole process a lot more effective for you in the long run. There’s different quizzes, tons of questions, places for you to just “vent” your true feelings, get your emotions out, and even parts that will be challenging, yet rewarding at the same time. It’s created to help you not just learn a lot about what’s physically going on with you, but also all the thoughts inside your head. My suggestion is to print it out and work through it as you read through my “Get Your Period Handbook.” And most importantly, have fun with it!
She’s constantly thinking these things and even when she’s around her friends and family she verbally says these things: “I just don’t know, I’m just not good enough to make it. I’m too fat and ugly, I’m not as good as all the other girls, I never win at anything.” These are the thoughts (and words) she’s constantly replaying both to herself and others.
All this negative thinking leads her to continually question herself in the weeks leading up to try outs and display themselves in full-force the day of. She ends up running late, rushes out the door, doesn’t have her outfit cleaned and ready to wear, and is super nervous during the entire thing. She isn’t smiling, she’s stressed, she keeps thinking about how her clothes are dirty and everybody is probably looking at her. Her mind is distracted the whole time, causing her to appear unconfident, sloppy, and not really know what she’s doing. What do you think happens? She doesn’t make the team.
Debbie, on the other hand, is also trying out for the cheerleading squad. But she goes about it in a whole different way. The weeks before tryouts, she wakes up in the morning and spends about 15 minutes imagining herself doing amazing. She’s happy, smiling, joyful, peppy, on-beat, and everything is flowing perfectly. She really believes she’s going to make the team and consistently speaks positively about the upcoming day.
She thinks about and tells others about how excited she is, how grateful she is for even having this opportunity, how much she loves cheerleading and how much she’s ready for the next steps. She always says, “Thank you!” when someone compliments her on her talent and if someone even insinuates something that could come across as negative, she doesn’t let it get to her at all - she’s too focused on all the positive surrounding the big day.
The night before try outs, she makes sure her uniform is clean and ironed, she gets in bed a few minutes early, and ends up waking feeling refreshed and energized the next morning. Since she went to bed a little earlier than usual, she wakes up a little earlier, giving her plenty of time to imagine/visualize how well she’s going to do, eat a healthy breakfast, and not rush out the door.
During tryouts, she’s smiling, appears confident & happy, hitting every beat, and has a ton of fun the entire time. This shows such a great impression to the coaches that she easily makes the team, it’s a no-brainer.
See the difference here? Two girls, same talent/looks/opportunity/etc. but totally different outcomes all based off their thoughts and words, which lead to their feelings, which lead to certain actions, which ultimately gave different results. It’s not magic.
You might be sitting there right now thinking, “Yeah, of course! This is all common sense!”
But is it though? Are you actually doing this in your own life? Think about a similar situation in your own life, in ANY area of your life: Your job, your relationships, your body image, your relationship to food, diet, exercise, health. What about with your friends, co-workers, kids, parents, school work, passions, goals, etc?
What are YOUR thoughts, words & attitude regarding those things?
I would almost bet that if you’re always positive, happy, grateful, thankful and excited about one of those areas of your life, then things are going pretty well for you with that, right? Let’s say when it comes to work, you’re always happy, thankful for your job, love your co-workers, make good money, positive about the future, and excited to go to work most of the time - my guess would be that you’re killing it at your job.. am I right?
And I would also bet that if you’re always negative, sad, anxious, depressed, worried, obsessed or stressed about one of those areas of your life, then things are going awful for you with that…right? Maybe it’s your body image and you’re always thinking and saying things about your body that are negative, you’re sad you don’t weight XYZ, you’re anxious about how others see you, you’re depressed and never want to get out of the house, you’re obsessed with counting calories and you’re stressed every time it comes time to eat food - my guess would be that you’re not in a good place mentally with how you look, right?
So, this truth literally spans across every single area of our lives. There is no way around it. What you think about (and talk about) is what you’re going to attract in your life, simple as that.
"30 Days To Loving Yourself: Daily Tasks For Overcoming Self-Hate, Anxiety, & Stress" is a 30 day plan, filled with daily tasks designed to completely change your life, one step at a time, one day at a time.
Just like you, I know what it’s like to look in the mirror every day and not particularly like what I see. Not just on a physical level, but also on a mental and emotional level. At some point in your life, or maybe it was ever so slowly, you started to change. Things got different. Over time, you slowly started to lose your excitement for your life and for who you are as an individual. Years ago, the same thing happened to me. I went through a very difficult time and I no longer had the vigor for life that I used to. Things just felt “off.” Every day would just drag along, I was always waiting for the next best thing to happen in my life, living for the weekends (only to do nothing on the weekends), feeling self-pity and dreaming of a better, more happy, fun life, the life like I “used to” have or I “could have” or like someone else had if things could only change. I dealt with low self-esteem, low self-confidence, self-hate, anxiety, worrying, always wanting this or that, never being content, living in the past and day-dreaming of the future when things would change and I would finally be happy. I kept thinking if things were different, or like they used to be, then all my problems would go away. I believed that if I could only have this or if that certain thing could change in my life then my life would finally be different.
But that wasn't the case, and along the way I figured out the secret. There was one key that unlocked the door to me loving my life, loving myself, and beating the anxiety and stress once and for all. There was one thing I had to do to see results. And that's what this book is all about - it's a guide to help you get to that point. It's 30 days of tasks that I have implemented in my own life to make me successful in finally, genuinely, loving myself and my life. Finally waking up every single day with joy and happiness, stress-free and excited for the day. Finally accepting my body, accepting where I am in life, loving my job, the place I lived, the things I did every day, and my relationships. Finally loving my life.
The point of this book is for you to learn to truly loving yourself, your life, your body, your job, your relationships, the things that happen with you day-to-day, not someone else's. It's about you learning to cope with certain situations, accepting certain things, and creating the right habits that will change your life. And I can promise you, if you commit to the 30 days, you will undoubtedly see a change. And not just any change, but a drastic change.
*Disclaimer: This is NOT for anyone that is uncommitted, always want a quick-fix and constantly looking for instant results. This is for those who are fed up with all the anxiety, worry, and self-hate and want their life to be full of joy and happiness again. This is for those who want to wake up and love what they see in the mirror regardless of their weight or what they look like; the ones who want to start each day with the outlook that today is going to be awesome no matter what happens; and the ones who finally want to get their depression, anxiety, and self-hate out of the way so they can live every day to the fullest free from all the guilty, worry, and sadness. If that sounds like you, then this book will change your life! :)
Now, there’s a WHOLE LOT more that goes into this: there’s ton of tips and tricks you can use, imagination/visualization techniques, affirmations or statements you can think and say, etc. (which I plan on diving into deeper in more blog posts), but this is just a basic intro to what it is and how it works.
The thing that I want you to get from this post today is that your thoughts are very powerful. You can think your way into something or out of something, it’s all in your control.
So, here’s something to work on until next time:
Become aware of the thoughts you’re CURRENTLY thinking about an area of your life that you want to change.
Realize that the reason your life is the way it is in that specific area is because of your thoughts surrounding it… that’s it!
Change your thoughts about that situation to be completely positive, more upbeat, happy, energetic, excited, thankful and grateful. And also change the way you talk about that situation with people around you - keep it 100% positive.
As you continue to do this every time this topic comes up in your mind, you’ll slowly start to see those old, negative thoughts dwindle away, as well as that old part of you go away, and a new you will start to emerge.
Remember, you’re going to be whatever you think you are and say you are. That’s how you got to where you are now - all those thoughts from the past lead you to where you are today in each specific situation. So, knowing that, if you want your life to be different in the future, start CHANGING your thoughts now, because those thoughts are going to be what makes you who are you in the future.
I hope this wasn’t too deep for you or over your head! It can be a little tough to explain sometimes, but stay tuned because I’ll be doing more posts about this topic in the future. I honestly can’t tell you how much of my life has been impacted with this and I hope it does the same for you!
Go have a great day and think GOOD thoughts!
xoxo,
Audra