Positive Thinking – Acknowledging and Releasing Negative Feelings

“I’m not really one for rumination. Meaning: My kids and I feel our feelings — often deeply — and then, if the feelings are negative, we try to move on. If the feelings are positive, we try to savor them, to hang on to them.” ~Christine Carter, PhD

Some people may think I am this unusual happy-go-lucky, never-having-a-negative-thought individual, due to all the writing I do about positivity and joy. Be assured that my reality encompasses the full scale of human emotions!

Looking back, I have been through years of negativity, when thinking positive on a grand scale was not a glimmer in my then-challenging reality. Thinking STRONG was about as positive as I could be during those years of personal and family turmoil. Fortunately, the most upbeat part of me knew to reach deep inside through all the hurt and fear, as I tapped into my inner strength and guidance to help me persevere along that difficult journey. And yes, eventually I came to the figurative light at the end of the tunnel.

What I learned from my own experience is that it is okay to acknowledge and experience one’s negative feelings. You cannot and should not deny or suppress your feelings, because they are part of your own personal reality. However, and here is the significant “but” — but don’t, as Christine Carter suggests, “ruminate” there forever. Know you CAN move on. Feel the pain, but then let go of it, release it out to the Universe, to God, to wherever.

Know you can find your light again, and let it move you forward toward improved and more optimistic thinking. Staying in the tense, unproductive and downright toxic energy of negative feelings for a prolonged period of time is unhealthy. I am convinced (and scientific evidence supports this) that remaining there will only lead to the manifestation of physical symptoms and illness.

The flip side of this equation is that when you manage to consciously shift yourself up the emotional scale into a better-feeling place — SAVOR that place. That is the feeling to ruminate on — to be in alignment with. When you find yourself in this sunshine-filled, good-feeling reality — exalt your magnificence, the powerful YOU that has brought yourself happily to this moment. Celebrate your optimistic self! And you will feel even better, drawing more good-feeling, positive aspects toward you.

Some joys in our lives are sudden and unexpected (as are some of our sorrows.) But recognize and appreciate the gamut of all these remarkable times. Bask in the joy. File that particular, remarkably clear, slice-of-happy-life feeling in the back of your mind to reach for on another day, when you might need to be uplifted by the memory of it.

Affirmations:

• I acknowledge ALL my feelings and release the ones that no longer serve me.
• I know that I can consciously let go of painful emotions and replace them with powerfully joyful ones.
• I take time to savor and appreciate those moments of joy, accomplishment and exhilaration.