January 2023 Wellness Challenge

JANUARY 2023 CHALLENGE: Catch and Change Your Negative Thoughts - Stress is in the eye of the beholder.  How we see/assess a situation may impact how we react.  To do this challenge:

1. Track and catch your negative automatic thoughts this month (journaling might help you with tracking).
2. Evaluate and Change your thoughts to see the situations in a different way that’s more positive and manageable.

Self-Regulate: In order to change your perspective, you might need to first self-regulate to calm yourself down. Remember to try tips from the previous challenges to self-regulate:

1. Mindfulness and breathing. (recognize your emotion and breath)
2. Show gratitude (appreciate what/who you have)
3. Allow yourself to sit with the  emotion and be ok with the imperfections.
4. Play/Do something fun with others.
5. For Freedom Community Church & those who this applies: Pray for guidance in healthy self-regulation. Proverbs 3:5-6 (Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.)

Example:
Situation: You come home to a messy house and all the kids are on their phones.  
Your Thoughts & Reaction: If you think, “These kids are lazy,” you’ll be mad at the kids. 
Evaluate to Change your thoughts: Why did you focus on the mess first and not the kids? What’s more important? The mess or the kids?  Why can’t you think, “Kids are happy and healthy” right when you walk in the door?  Could you be undergoing a lot of stress?  Could it be because the children are not following through the way YOU want it or your parenting ideas are not working or consistent? Could your kids be exhausted and stressed too?  
Change your thoughts and reactions: Say hi to your happy and healthy kids first.. Breath and think, “Okay, this mess is not working for me. I need to approach the kids to help.” Then have a healthy conversation with them about a messy house.  (I know, sometimes kids don’t do it if they are not scared---since fear is their motivation to do things.  So find a different motivation instead of using fear.  Work with the kids to find a new motivation for them so you don’t have to turn to anger–which can be your weapon to cause fear sometimes.

In the Bible: “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (Proverbs 4:23). This passage was written by King Solomon for the benefit of his own sons.

Famous Quotes: Pastor Charles R. Swindoll (88 yrs old this year, 2023): “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”