Ideas to Think About

• What I focus on grows. Will I focus on negative or positive thoughts?
• Energy goes where attention flows. As long as I continue to focus on my problem, I will feel overwhelmed and depleted. As I move into solutions, I gain momentum.
• My self-talk is self-hypnosis. As I listen to what I am telling myself on a daily basis, I ask myself, Is that something I want to reinforce in myself?
• Change takes place in the present. I can’t change what I ate in the past, and I can’t live in the future. I can only begin change right now, with this meal, this bite, this thought.
• Anticipating anxiety produces anxiety. My body actually produces chemicals in response to my thoughts.
• Negative thoughts are like weeds in a garden. Unless they are plucked, they will tend to overtake my consciousness. My happiness is a function of eliminating negative thinking.
• Trying to change another through control and blame never works. I can change only my own reactions and actions.
• I practice noticing what happens when I think of something I am grateful for.
• Freedom is thinking about food only when I am hungry or preparing for a meal.
• Change is possible. I can consciously develop my ability to eliminate unwanted thoughts and feelings.
• My thoughts determine my feelings.
• I am greater than my fear, and I no longer give my fear the power to control my life.
• I determine how I choose to see every situation. While I may have been victimized by past circumstances, I no longer choose to remain a victim!
• I have so much to be grateful for today! [Make a gratitude list.]
• My life has a higher purpose, and as I choose to focus on that, my problems seem smaller.

For a Healthy Perspective, Practice These Thoughts

Rebecca Cooper, MFT, CEDS, is the author of the Diets Don’t Work^®; a structured program to heal disordered eating.  For more information about her program, contact her at 800-BULIMIA, www.rebeccashouse.org or rebecca@DietsDontWork.org.