Thoughts are powerful.

We often blame our circumstances for how we feel by saying things “this is so frustrating” or “he made me so mad.”

The truth is that your emotions are caused by your thoughts, not the situations in your life.

If you’re tired of feeling anxious, stressed, irritated, or any other negative emotion, the solution is not to constantly rearrange the circumstances of your life.

The solution is to change your thoughts.

It doesn’t need to be a huge shift.

I’m not telling you to go from “this is the worst day of my life” to “this is the best day ever”.  That won’t feel believable to you and it won’t be helpful.

Sometimes, a small shift can be much more useful.

One shift I like using is adding three simple words to the end of my thought: “and that’s okay.”

Byron Katie says “when I argue with reality, I lose.”

The thought “and that’s okay” feels much more peaceful than resisting the reality of your situation.

Here are a few examples:

This is really hard, and that’s okay.
I don’t like this, and that’s okay.
I made a mistake, and that’s okay.
This isn’t going as planned, and that’s okay.
I feel anxious, and that’s okay.
I have so much to do, and that’s okay.
He’s in a bad mood, and that’s okay.

Try it out!

The small shifts often make the biggest difference.