Hi guys! Welcome to episode 151 of the Wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast! If you’re brave, share this episode, it’s one everyone needs to hear…
Our thoughts and feelings are just so interesting aren’t they? More than interesting though, they are the catalyst for us either living a really happy fulfilling life or one that is full of misery…I’ve experienced this in my own life and it seems the older I get the more important it is to be aware of my thoughts, ultimately because they affect every action I take. Now I also want to remind you, because I experienced this as well, it you have a hormone imbalance, this can greatly affect your happiness. So if you are REALLY struggling, you might want to make sure you don’t have a hormone or chemical imbalance of some sort. I actually did this and once we got it fixed, it’s much easier to allow for the normal everyday thoughts and feelings. I did that through Exceed hormone specialists locally here in German-town but maybe you have one in your town as well. It’s important to go to a specialist because that’s the only thing they do so they really understand what will make you feel your best, the word my Dr uses is we want to feel optimal and I couldn’t agree more.
In the past, I used to think that it was someone else’s fault that I was upset and they needed to change their behavior in order for me to feel better, when in reality that doesn’t ever work really, it may temporarily but eventually that will change and there will be something else. Which makes you a puppet on a string controlled by other people. This goes for you changing for someone else as well. We are each responsible for our own happiness, others can add to it of course and can detract from it as well, but ultimately if we get used to the idea that we are the master of our thoughts and that every single thing we experience, read, listen to, watch has an effect on us then we will start being much more aware of what and who we let rent space in our head.
I had a moment this week where I felt sadness, I’ve talked about it in recent episodes where because I have a naturally happy demeanor, being sad or feeling unhappy makes me think something is wrong in my life, maybe there’s something I should be doing that I’m not, or something I need to fix so that I never feel this way? But in reality, it’s normal to have moments where you don’t feel blissfully happy, that makes us human.
I talked to a good friend about it and it’s funny because she is different from me in that she doesn’t have a naturally happy demeanor, so she is ok with not being happy sometimes because that’s just part of life as she knows it. She pointed out to me that I have a hard time letting myself feel unhappy, that I think I should always be happy. I know that. And Honestly it isn’t often that I’m unhappy, but when I do though, it’s usually got something to do with my immediate family…maybe my parents or one of my sisters that I don’t see that much. Which when I really thought hard about it, is all created in my head because of my world view of how families should be. In my world view, family is important and of course you are going to have issues but you’re family so you work through it and get over it and you move forward. That’s my worldview.
You see my baby sister is someone that I have a relationship where we talk several times a day usually and we get on each others nerves or get irritated with each other but we always know that within the hour we will be laughing about it or be over it because that is what sisters do in my world view, but that isn’t the way everyone sees it, not even in my own family. So does that make them wrong and me right? It doesn’t matter. What matters is your mindset and health. That should be the most important thing to every single person right alongside physical health.
Now something that has added extra stress to relationships whether it be friends or family has been the ongoing saga of COVID and the mindset around that. Who could have imagined we would have family members being isolated because they have different views on COVID and the vaccinations. Does that make one of them wrong and the other one right? It doesn’t matter either. You are responsible for your health and that means your physical and mental health. If you believe you should get the vaccine, get it. If you believe you shouldn’t get the vaccine, then don’t get it. It’s as easy as that. And if there’s drama in your family or friendships over that, well that’s ok too. Don’t put yourself in a situation that you will regret because someone else is wanting you to do something or not wanting you to do something. It’s very interesting to me that we are having to have these conversations in America and I know that is hurtful to some of you and I have dealt with some of it too, but I want you to know you aren’t alone. There are many people that are being pressured one way or the other even by family members but ultimately you’re an adult and you get to decide, don’t be bullied.
You have probably heard me talk about this in previous episodes I have a big family and we used to be super tight. I thought we had successfully navigated our differences around religion and figured out a way to be a close family anyway. And then my younger sister decided to change all of that because she was fearful her kids would see something in our life that they wanted as well and she basically told us they weren’t going to be part of our life anymore. Since then, that has affected our whole family dynamic because her kids spend a lot of time at my parents home and she doesn’t want us to be around them so it puts my parents in an awkward situation, because they also know she would stop letting the kids come over if we were there too. My personality is such that I don’t ever want to put my parents in an awkward position so I just stay away for the most part. So this is my decision but sometimes I blame them for it. But is it their fault? No, I made the decision to not be part of the religion and that has its own consequences which I knew. It doesn’t seem fair to a lot of people but I bet you have your own unique family situation where you feel you’ve done nothing wrong but you are still having to deal with consequences, maybe it has to do with COVID. COVID has given people that want power, more power, it has given people that want to isolate the power to do so and they feel they have the moral authority. But look. You don’t control that. You control you and your thoughts. That’s it. You’re stronger than you think, I’m stronger than I think sometimes. Always remember that. Your true power lies in your ability to have enough respect for yourself to listen to your inner guidance system and do what’s right for you, don’t follow the crowd and don’t let anyone leverage you to do something you feel is wrong for you. That’s a never ending saga. And it tears at the very fabric of the respect you have for yourself.
My challenge to you this week is to take back your personal power, the power that is YOU. Every decision you make this week, think about whether it makes you stronger or weaker. We are unique individuals, each made differently and beautifully. Remember who you are at your core, a strong, vibrant, powerful beyond your imagination human being and you know what is right for you, more than anyone else. You have the power to influence your physical and mental health in a really positive way this week, but will you? I think you will. I love you guys and I’ll talk to you in a few days.
