Flippin' It...

When feeling sad, angry, afraid ~ FLIP IT…

What is FLIPPIN’ IT? It is a tool that you can use to feel good. So when you are FLIPPIN’ out, you can FLIP what you are thinking and feeling to see it from another point of view or see the situation from a more productive understanding.

It’s like a cool tool that you can use to FLIP any negative situation or emotion into something positive.

By constantly FLIPPIN’ things, you begin to see that what is going on has another underlying story going on and you have the power to feel more in control.

By reminding yourself to FLIP IT you will begin to feel more positive, more relaxed and create solutions to your problems.

FLIPPIN’ it is a way to get from negative thinking to positive thinking. And why wouldn’t anyone want to be positive? Positive thinking is a state of mind which can be learned, taught, experienced and used so that you can be happy, amazing and confident.

A Positive Thinking attitude will not only affect yourself but your friends and family as well! Positive Attitude = positive results.

FLIPPIN’ it so that you start positive thinking is putting you in charge of you. Your friends are not in charge of what you think or what you do, YOU ARE. Your family are not in charge of what or how you feel, YOU ARE. Today is a new day so why not make today the day you start POSITIVE THINKING, what happened yesterday or last year is done, gone, finished but today and all the tomorrows are there ready just for you!

The best way to start cultivating and getting into the habit of positive thinking is remind yourself everyday to do it and like anything, the more you do it the better you get at it and the easier it becomes to do.

Some great tools to help FLIP IT to positive thinking are;

Gratitude Journaling ~ This is not just any journal or diary, it is a journal/diary for positive thinking so what goes in this diary is only the good stuff that is happening. Things that you would write in here are ‘I am grateful for the warm bed I sleep in every night’ ~ ‘Thanks for the slobbery kisses my dog gives me when I’m feeling down’.

This is where we go over things in our lives that make us happy, feel good, and that are of a positive nature.

Writing it down in a journal or diary also helps us to think of positive things, and when we are feeling down about things we can pick the diary up and remind ourselves of the good things we have going on.

Doing this every morning helps set a positive mood for the day.

Worry Time ~ Worrying about a problem all day does not solve the problem does it? If this was the case, the whole world would constantly worry. But as worrying does not solve any problems and problems still do come up we need to set time aside so that we can find solutions, or resolve a particular problem with ourselves, friend or situation.

When we do sit down to ‘worry’ time try FLIPPIN’ IT to ‘solution finding’ time. Have another journal ready so that you can write down what is troubling you and what are some of the solutions you can come up with that might FLIP IT to be more positive.

Use this time for problem solving, bring in a friend or family member to help you see solutions to the problem and brainstorm.

Write down all ideas that come to you, no matter how silly, absurd or ridiculous they may be. Then once you’ve done that go through the list and circle or tick the ideas that are doable and then put into action the solutions that you have come up with.

Meditation ~ Meditation comes in many ways and you probably do it without even realising. Walking home from school, catching a bus to school, sitting quietly in the sun either at home, at the beach or at school, times when you are not doing anything in particular.

These quiet times, when you are by yourself, are times when you can find solace, comfort and enjoyment by being by yourself. Times like this you can rest, relax your muscles, think of positive things and calm our busy minds.

 You can also use these quiet times to ‘talk’ to yourself in a positive way ~ we call these affirmations.

Click here for more expanded information: Meditation

Affirmations ~ Affirmations are sentences that said in such a way that they read positively and are best read out loud. They are statements said in the present tense and read like it has already happened. Use only words that are positive so instead of ‘I am not afraid’ you would say ‘I am safe’ and use words that you would use and not some big worded, poetic jumble of words…keep it to how you would say to yourself.

Affirmations are one of the best tools for FLIPPIN’ IT. Affirmations create new positive thoughts and emotions. They help bring out the best in yourself and they help you believe the best about yourself.

An example of how to use affirmations is this, you are not feeling too good about yourself, instead of focusing what you do not feel good about focus on how you would like to feel about yourself and say this affirmation ‘I love myself unconditionally’. As first if might not ‘feel’ right to say it but keep doing it and you will begin to behave and believe it.

Another one you could use if you are having trouble studying FLIP this thought and try saying to yourself ‘I can concentrate easily and studying comes naturally to me’.

Another could be if you wish you had more friends, write a positive affirmation stating something along the lines of ‘I am friendly and my life is full of friends I love to be with and who love to be with me’.

Click here for more expanded information: Affirmations

Media Block ~ This is a big one. How much TV do you watch? So easily we forget that it is all make believe, drama and acting! As soon as a camera is on, people are acting! Don’t get caught up in the drama that is TV, whether it be comedy, news, soapies, ‘reality’ programmes and such.

These shows do not directly affect us but they do influence how we live our lives and when you sit and really think about it, they affect how we see the world.

FLIP IT and try not watching TV for a week and do things that you would not normally do – like go for a walk, read a good book, trying drawing or painting. Ride your bike or skateboard.

So try FLIPPIN’ IT before you flip out and take control of YOU. Blessings,

Mim

Mystic Pathways Originally written September 2012