Hello,
I'm Jo Hatcher.
These are difficult times we're in,
Uncertain times.
And uncertain times call for us to be able to return to being centered.
It's normal to be angry and scared during this time,
But in this talk,
I invite you to consider the power of choice and how,
When you change your thinking,
You can manage even the most difficult of situations.
As a psychotherapist,
I see my clients adapt and transform their feelings by using the power of changing their thoughts.
In this talk,
I give you positive affirmations you can apply straight away to help you navigate the uncertainty.
Today,
I'd like to invite you to let go of any worries or problems you're sensing at the moment and take a few minutes to listen and just be.
The world as we knew it a few months ago has vanished.
We're living in very difficult times which require a new way of thinking.
It calls us to reach deep into ourselves to be able to handle the obstacles and the ways that we function in the world.
It's not easy,
But we're up for it.
The first thing is to let yourself mourn.
There's so much loss during this time.
The loss of freedom of being able to continue outside our homes without fear of contracting a deadly disease.
There's loss in not being able to hug the people that we love.
We can't freely walk into a store without a mask or wonder if the person next to us might be asymptomatic with COVID-19 and pass it unwittingly to us.
We've lost so much.
Acknowledge how hard this is and allow yourself to cry,
Blow up,
Fall in a heap,
Be depressed,
Be disappointed,
Or be worried.
And whatever emotion you're having,
Let yourself feel it.
Everyone is feeling a range of emotions at this time.
It's unnatural,
This world we're living in,
And we don't even know what normal is anymore.
The good news is that we're actually adapting.
We're coping.
We're being resilient.
Do we like it?
No,
Of course not.
But this is the world we're in now.
It's so easy to get stuck in the exhaustion,
The complacency,
The being unmotivated and being unproductive.
It's easy to snap at others with resentment and frustration.
And it's easy to think of when will this pandemic be over and not have any answers.
One of the things I see is that we're worried,
Anxious and sad because of what we're telling ourselves.
What we say in our heads,
Whether out loud or silently,
It's what we're saying to ourselves that drives our feelings.
Statements like,
I hate Corona.
It's screwed up my life.
This is hard.
This is stupid.
I'm not going to wear a mask.
They can't tell me what to do.
We don't even know what the future holds.
It could get worse.
These kinds of thoughts will drive your anger and disillusionment and you can get stuck here.
But I encourage you to take a moment to think of people who are doing well during this time.
Watch them,
Observe them.
They're going about their lives without complaining.
They're taking things in stride.
These people who are dealing with this time in a healthy way are saying something very different to themselves.
They're saying things like,
This is an unprecedented time in history and it's hard and it will pass.
I can handle whatever comes my way.
I don't have any other choice but to keep going.
These are the people who are grateful for what is going well in their life.
They say things to themselves like,
I'm grateful that even though it sucks that I'm not getting to go out of my house very much or I'm bored,
I have my home which is safe and comfortable.
Some of them say,
I'm grateful I don't have corona or that my family is okay.
These resilient people say things to themselves like,
I know that if I do get sick,
I have good medical care available.
Some people even say to themselves that they know how many others are not as lucky as they are and they sink deeper into gratefulness.
Many will say they have an abundance of food or that they can order online even though they don't go to the grocery store.
If you use thoughts that remind you that not all is lost,
That you will not only survive this pandemic but you can learn more about yourself in the process,
Then you'll be one of these resilient,
Healthy people.
These times call for all of us to be the best version of ourselves.
These times call for us to examine our thoughts,
What we're saying to ourselves.
These are the times that call us to change negative thoughts to thoughts that put us back in charge of ourselves.
This is the one thing that we do have control over,
The way we think and where we put our attention.
If we focus on the problems,
We'll have more anger,
More sadness,
And a lot more worries.
But there is another way.
You have the power of choice.
You can choose to think the way you want.
I'm going to give you some affirmations and I encourage you to start using them every day.
Here they are.
I'm choosing the way I'm going to think from now on.
I can handle whatever comes my way.
I choose kindness for myself and for others.
Write these down in your journal or write them on post-it notes and put them up where you can see these every day throughout the day.
Here are these affirmations again.
I'm choosing the way I'm going to think from now on.
I can handle anything that comes my way.
And I choose kindness for myself and for others.
I wish you good health and ease in choosing your own thoughts.
Blessings.
