Exploring the Inner Dialogue: Unpacking the Thoughts I Had in My Mind Today

My thoughts influence how I live my life, my perceptions, and my emotions so I try to pay attention to them. Sometimes thoughts may seem innocent, like they're not a big deal, but over time they form our beliefs. I pay attention to my thoughts and then decide whether they are helpful for me or not. If they are unhelpful, then I come up with something more helpful to say to myself and try to make a habit of that. If my thought is helpful, then I feel proud of myself and make an effort to keep doing it. Below are thoughts I had in my mind today.

"What if I don't make it to graduation and everyone has to plan my funeral instead?"

My son, A, asked me if I could light some candles to sit on the table while he did watercolors. Of course, I emphasized the importance of being careful around the candles and explained the consequences of accidentally putting something too close to them. I stayed downstairs but was doing yoga, so I wasn't watching the candles directly. I did remind him every so often to make sure he's being careful by the candles. However, I kept worrying that he may flip the page and accidentally touch the page over a flame. I thought about the things I would miss and the goals I wouldn't ever reach. Was this thought helpful? I would say that in some ways, yes, because it kept me alert to the potential danger so I could monitor it. If I let it consume me with anxiety to the point that I could not relax, then no, it would not have been very helpful to me.

"Come on, you can do this!"

I was doing some yoga that used my abdomen muscles along with some others and was having a difficult time as I had been doing more relaxing/stretch-based yoga lately. I was also trying to hold a wheel pose which was hard to do after my muscles became so sore from the other poses. Doubts were starting to creep up on me when I reminded myself of the difficult things I have already done and how, really, pretty much anything is possible if I just work towards it. This thought was helpful to me because it encouraged me to keep going just a little bit longer.

"I don't have time for that"

I was getting impatient with A today because, for some reason, he thinks that every time I do yoga he should run circles around me or climb all over me. Plus, he is so loud that I can't hear what the instructor on the video is saying. I try to be kind and patient but sometimes I just lose it. I began telling myself that I do not have time to gently explain to A why he was supposed to be more calm and quiet. This thought was determined to be unhelpful because then it led me to yell at A to stop it and be quiet.