Intentional Thinking

Welcome to This Daring Adventure podcast, where we work on bridging the gap between where we are and where we want to be in order to live a bigger and bolder life.

In this podcast, we will provide inspiration, tips, and skills you need to make your life the adventure you want it to be.

Here's your host, mindset mentor and life coach Trista Guertin.

Hey everybody.

Welcome to episode 62.

Today I wanted to talk about your thoughts and thinking thoughts on purpose. This is one of the most important things I think we can do for ourselves because when we think on purpose, when we think intentionally and consciously, this is when we start the process of creating the results that we want, creating our lives, creating ourselves intentionally on purpose and the way that we want to.

These thoughts, the thoughts that run through your brain every single day will drive your life. They will ultimately create Your life yourself and whatever goal or result you want to achieve. And you've probably heard me talk before about our thoughts, create our feelings. our feelings, then drive our actions and our actions ultimately create the results for ourselves.

And if you are not consciously choosing those thoughts that create your feelings, that drive your actions, that create your results, You are doing it unconsciously and you are doing it on default and you are probably repeating patterns and you are probably repeating your past.

Our brain loves to take the easy way out and the easiest way out in this case is to repeat thoughts to take what's happened in the past and continue to think about it to create experiences similar to it, to draw conclusions based on what happened in the past, because it's the easiest, the neural pathways in our brain already exist, so it happens very quickly without you having to exert any energy.

If you don't intentionally take time to understand what thoughts are going through your mind on a daily basis, and then consciously deciding whether you want to keep them or whether you want to choose new ones, Then you are just living by default and you are pushing the easy button. You're exerting low energy and you're living based on your past. Instead of intentionally deciding where you want to go, what you want to create, it starts with your thinking. It creates a feeling. Then it drives your action and what we land up doing is creating more of the same.

You land up living the same day over and over again. You're not achieving anything new. You're not going to the next level. You're not creating a new adventure for yourself. What we have to do is become aware of those thoughts that are running through your mind. And most of the time, when I talk to clients, they state their thoughts as if they are a fact, as if they are the truth. and that there's no debate. It's just a fact. And some of these thoughts could be, I'm exhausted, it's too much, I'm not meant for this. There's not enough time. I'm stuck. There's nothing I can do about it. This is just the way I am. It's too late. I'm not good enough. There's too much to do. I'll never get it done. And we'll just keep repeating those.

And we believe them. We believe that they are facts.

We believe they are just the truth. This is the situation. But in fact, all of those sentences, those thoughts that I just read out are just that, they're just thoughts.

And when you think them, they will generate an emotion in you and probably if you're thinking I'm exhausted or it's too much or there's not enough time, it's not going to create a very good feeling in you. And if you're not feeling great or good or well, then you can imagine that the action that you're taking from that place is not going to either create anything new or anything that is really serving you and helping you to move to the next level.

But the good news is that those thoughts are optional. They may not feel optional, but they are. And it's truly one of the most amazing revelations that we can have is to understand that we can literally choose to have any thought we want and we can believe it. There are no thought police there. There's no limit to what we can think and believe.

We can choose anything. We can choose the thoughts that we want to think in order to generate that emotion that will drive us to take the action that we need to take in order to create that new results in our lives. And when you choose a new thought, of course you don't have to go to Rainbows and daisies. You, you want to start with something that feels somewhat believable that you can identify with, that you can resonate with that maybe it's just a bit of a stretch, so you practice and you rehearse it and you intentionally. It could be something like, I'm figuring this out bit by bit, it's possible that I have enough time.

It's possible that I am worthy of success. It's likely that if others can achieve this goal, I can achieve it too. So gaining that awareness of what's going on in your mind, it's always the first step you want to be conscious of what's going through your mind on a regular basis. Journaling is always a great option, writing down, taking five minutes, 10 minutes, Everything that's running through your mind, especially if there's a certain situation or certain event that tends to trigger you. And let's say it's about starting a business. You cannot get yourself to sit down and do the work to follow through and create that business that you truly want for yourself. And so then you want to spend a few minutes writing out, okay, what's coming up? What are the thoughts? What is it that is on my mind? That's playing on repeat day after day.

For one of my clients recently, she wanted to create this business for herself, but as a single mother with kids. She had two small children and the sole breadwinner, she was having difficulty sitting down and doing the work. And through our discussions, it came out that the main thought running through her mind is that the work never gets done.

And there was a lot of pressure and a lot of preoccupation about taking care of the dog and doing the laundry and taking care of the kids and picking this up and doing the groceries and cooking it and doing all of these things. And then she's constantly telling herself. That, she couldn't get all the work done and it couldn't be done. It was too much.

And every time she then thought about sitting down to do work on her business, it became a default setting for her brain just to offer up it's there's too much else to do. There's not enough time. It's, there's too much. It never gets done. And this was a habit in her brain. And then every time she didn't sit down to work on her business, her brain got a little hit of dopamine and thinking that thought that, there's, it's never getting done. There's too much work to do created this sense of panic and sort of anxiety in her. So then of course she was running around taking care of these things, but not actually creating anything in her life for herself.

That was important for her, not just herself, but for the future of her family. And so we had to take a look at that and see, what is it that's in her mind and what is it that's that soundtrack that she's listening to on a regular basis that is not helping to move her forward. And we had to select new thoughts that she could practice. And what you can basically do is I have a thought menu looking for thoughts that help you to move out of that place of panic and anxiety. And move you towards taking the action that you want to take.

As I said, the first step is always, what's going through your mind currently? What are the current thoughts? Spend some time. Taking a look, digging around, contemplating what are those reoccurring thoughts that are going through your mind, and then you want to spend some time, what do you want them to be? If you are clear about what you want, as my client was, she wanted to create that business.

So she needed to change her thoughts to something that would serve her and to create that feeling of her in her, of, excuse me, to create that feeling in her of determination of focus of empowered and, start by picking one thought, one thought that resonates with you that seems somewhat believable that you can latch on to and then practice. Put it on a sticky note, put it on your phone. I usually put sticky notes on my mirror, on my laptop. I have had thoughts on my phone and it helps to get out in front of it and to practice set, time again, this could be during your journaling practice to intentionally write this out, think about it, focus your brain on what it is you want it to focus on, but then also take the opportunity.

When your brain offers you the old thought of, it's too much. I'll never get it done. The work never gets done. You have to refocus it onto the new thought that you've chosen. I told my client. That she had to manage her mind or it would manage her. And in the same way that you would talk to your children telling them, for instance, if it's bedtime or time to brush their teeth or to take a bath, that it's non negotiable that it is time for you to brush your teeth.

And with that same focus and that same resolve, you focus your brain on those new thoughts it's the same management style, if you will, that you need to focus your brain on what you want it to focus on. So then you want to continue to choose these thoughts consciously and intentionally. Once you have a good handle on that first thought. You can move to another.

So if you're thinking it's possible that I could, I, if you're thinking it's possible that I could create the business that I want, then maybe in a month or two, you want to start thinking it's probable that I can start this business that I want to create. It's likely that I can start this business. I am starting this business. I have a business. I am creating a successful business. You walk yourself through these over time to move yourself closer to what it is you want to create.

And each of these thoughts have the power to help you change your life. It's truly one of the most powerful exercises that you can do for yourself to take yourself to the next level, to start creating. The life it is that you want to get yourself unstuck and moving forward, deleting those old patterns, deleting those old thought habits that are just automatically cycling through your brain on a daily basis. And getting rid of them and consciously choosing new thoughts that do serve you and consciously creating that feeling that you need in order to take the action that you want. And that's how you create the results that you want.

Think about how you need to feel to take that action. Choose thoughts that help you to create that feeling. Imagine how you would then show up differently if you are feeling focused and determined and empowered, you're going to be sitting down and working on your business. You're not going to allow yourself to be distracted by the laundry, right? The laundry can wait. You are focused on creating that business that you want for your new life and you keep practicing those thoughts. I know that when I don't intentionally sit and practice my think my thoughts in my journal practice on a daily, if not, several times a week, my brain literally goes off into the gutter and I feel the doubt and the fear and the overwhelm and the scarcity start to creep back in.

And that's a very normal process. This is our brains default setting. It's trying to protect us. It's trying to keep us safe. It's trying to take the easy way out, but I need to manage my mind and not allow it to manage me. And I need to get out ahead of it. I need to practice those thoughts and I always need to refocus my brain if it comes up during the day.

This is a practice that you will have to do as long as you have a human brain. For as long as you are alive. Your brain will need to be managed. You will need to overcome yourself in order to create the life that you want. And if you want to create the life you want, you need to be intentional. You need to be intentional with your thinking.

And if you don't clean it up, and if you're not aware of what's going on, then you will easily go off track. Some of the thoughts that I choose on a regular basis I cycle through different ones, obviously, depending on the goal that I want to create for myself.

But there are certain ones that I use on a regular basis, just to name a few.

I live in the totality of all possibilities.

I am figuring this out bit by bit that comes in very handy when you're working on your business.

I am capable of big things.

I have plenty of time.

I have plenty of resources.

Everything is happening for me, not to me.

It's always working out for me.

And I am open to new and exciting possibilities.

I am open and ready for new and exciting opportunities. I am ready and open to new and exciting adventures.

So those are just a few that really resonate with me and that I use on a regular basis.

Oh, and the other one is big things are coming.

Let's see how good it can get.

I love that one that really focuses me on and just the possibility of Life and the opportunities that could come along and just believing that good things and big things are coming.

All right. If you need help gaining that awareness of what's going on in your brain and how you can choose thoughts intentionally, I offer a free 45 minute coaching session. The link to my calendar will be in the show notes. You can find a date and time that works for you and come and get coached on any issue that you wish.

I also have a three month coaching program that helps to take you from stuck to creating the life that you truly want. It's a 12 week program and I go through four different pillars that help to move you from spinning your wheels, living the same day over and over again, to consciously and intentionally moving towards the future that you want to create for yourself and the you that you want to become. And I teach you tools and skills that you will be able to use for the rest of your life.

It's powerful work.

It's changed my life.

And I am really excited to share this with you and help you to make changes in your own life.

So if you're interested in learning more about that, also click the link in the show notes, get on my calendar and let's talk. Thank you everybody for joining me. I will talk to you next week. Take care. Bye bye.

Thank you for listening to This Daring Adventure podcast with your host Trista Guertin.

We hope you enjoyed the tips and conversations on how to get excited about life again.

As always, you can head to tristaguertin.com for additional resources and to book a one on one coaching session.

You can also follow Trista on Instagram at tristavguertin.

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