Each Thursday at M2B Fitness, I lead a virtual class called Thursday Thoughts. I share different thoughts I have had throughout the week, inspired by something I have listened to, watched, or read, and then we have a discussion about those things.
Before last week’s Thursday Thoughts, I told Kim, “I’m not sure anyone would want to hear my thoughts.”
I had experienced many negative thoughts throughout the week, and I certainly didn’t feel like I needed to share those. I searched my mind and my phone for notes I had jotted down during the week. I found some more positive, thought-provoking ideas to share while keeping my negative thoughts tucked away.
We had a good discussion about the thoughts I shared.
But then I began to wonder…
What kind of discussion would we have had if I had shared some of my more negative thoughts?
I think many of us tuck those thoughts away so no one else will see them. Because so many of us hide them, we begin to believe we must be different or that something must be wrong with us for having so many negative thoughts.
Let me share with each of you what I should have shared last Thursday:
We all experience thoughts of self-doubt, unworthiness, not being enough, and self-consciousness. Sometimes, we are simply left with an overall feeling of, “Why?”
My encouragement to each of us is this: Negative thoughts and feelings are a normal part of being human.
My challenge to each of us is to pay attention to what we do with those thoughts and feelings after they appear. We can begin challenging them in our minds, questioning whether they are true, and replacing them with healthier thoughts. Sometimes, they simply need to be shared with trusted family members or friends.
We are normal.
Negative thoughts happen to every single one of us.
They do not make us abnormal. They make us human.