Let me be honest for a second……I found myself singing while doing the laundry a minute ago. That’s not the odd part. I typically do sing while cleaning, which is why I prefer to clean the house when no one else is around. The odd part is the song I was singing “Never be the Same” by Camilla Cabllo….a song I actually kind of hate. How crazy is that? I’m over here taking clothes out of the dryer singing some line, incorrectly I’m sure, about “cause its useless” and it hits me that I’m singing a song I hate. I realized then that I do that often; sing songs that I do not like just because it is stuck in my head. (Thanks to my daughter’s way too loud radio).
Of course, being a therapist, I start thinking about all the other things I can get stuck in my head, even though I either hate them or they are just plain wrong. “You’re never going to be able to do that” “How can you be a therapist when your children talk back?” “Man, where did this weight come from? I’m turning into Shrek.” All these things I tell myself are completely unhelpful and defeating thoughts. How will I make progress in anything if I only tell myself I cannot do it? Of course I won’t make it if I convince myself not to try.
Come on, I know I’m not alone in this. We all do this in some way….yes I am making an absolute, ALL. So how in the world do we start taking our thoughts back? Pause + question=new thought. We just have to start questioning the reliability of those thoughts and then take action on a new thought! I know simple right? But not always easy. When that song gets stuck, pause for a second. Question what you are really singing. Is this a song I like or a song I hate? Is this helpful and truthful or am I lying to myself? But there is a second step. I can question all day whether I’ll make it or not, whether I’m good enough in some area or not, whether I’ll get in shape or not, but at the day nothing changes until I can ACT from a new way of thinking. So yes, changing the way we talk to ourselves is SO important, but acting in a new way really brings some change.
What song do you get stuck in your head? Is it really one you would choose or did it just get stuck because you’ve heard it too many times? You get to choose what you sing…..”We will, we will rock you, rock you.”……. Yeah, that’s more like it.