Stop Lying to Yourself

It’s almost Turkey Day - Thanksgiving. I am in the camp that there is no Christmas until after Thanksgiving (no decor, tree, music, etc), only because I feel Christmas steals Thanksgiving’s thunder.

And I love the purpose of Thanksgiving so much that I want to just focus on it - focus on gratitude. Because I believe finding and cultivating more gratitude is the remedy to many of life’s frustrations and issues.

For the past several years I have dedicated the month of November to posting what I am grateful for every day on Instagram. It is a good exercise for me as I also work on growing my own gratitude.

One of the benefits of living a more grateful life is that you will end up loving your life…..as it is!

But it is a habit that has to be developed because our brains (believe it or not) do not naturally want happiness. Our brains naturally want a problem to solve, so thus it will look for problems. This where gratitude comes in as it will help override this function.

The first step to overriding is to be aware of the problem it is trying to solve and decide if it is necessary or not. You can do this by being onto your brain and the lies it will tell you about loving your life. Here are some common lies & the more useful TRUTHS you can watch out for:

lie: “If I had an easier, richer, fuller life then I would love my life more.”

TRUTH: The more you love your life (right now as it is), the easier, richer, fuller life you will have.

lie: People who love their life, have more lovable lives.

TRUTH: People who love their lives are better at the skill of positivity

lie: People who make a lot of money, or who have happy marriages, or who have well-behaved kids are happier

TRUTH: People who make a lot of money, or who have happy marriages, or who have well-behaved kids are better at allowing negative emotions (they don’t always seek to feel good, but are on board to experiencing all the emotions that come with life)

lie: It is useful to dislike certain things, people, ideas, or events

TRUTH: It is much more useful to focus on what we do like (focus on the solution, not the problem)

lie: If I try to see only the positive, I am deluding myself

TRUTH: It is a delusion either way

These are just small adjustments in thinking, but I hope you can see the difference they can make in loving your life. The more we can create abundance, love, and gratitude, the easier it will be to keep it and override our brain patterns.

Now go enjoy some turkey and pie (and Christmas music if that’s your jam).