Written by Victoria Sarmiento, MFT
I was sent a simple email recently that including the following statement:
"When you start living a life that is authentic and in line with your values, peace soon follows".
It got me thinking about the work that we do and how important it is to identify your true core values like compassion, forgiveness, love of self, love of others, mercy, kindness, generosity, etc. It then reminded me of a pattern I notice which is: When our actions/behaviors are in alignment with their core values, we tend to feel MUCH better. Meaning, symptoms of depression and anxiety reduce.
All too often drinking and the side effects of drinking (behaviors during and after, the hangover, the depression/anxiety pre/post drinking) do not lead us to be close to our core values and core value thinking patterns. It leads us AWAY from them.
Drinking isn't the only thing that does that - so does watching crappy television that has a negative influence on us. So does spending time with toxic people. So does overeating. It is important to identify what activities draw you closer to your true (positive) core values. As it turns out, spending time with friends/family you trust, spending time in nature (hiking, walking on the beach), exercising, meditating, eating nutritious foods, reading... these are often the ideas that people come up with.
I heard a motivational speaker say recently - "Tell me what you are reading and who you spend time with and I can tell you where you will be in 5 years." Whoa. Consider what you are ingesting. Ask yourself, "Am I feeding myself healthy nutrition for my brain, for my body, for my heart and for my spirit?" If not, can you pick one thing to add to your "nutrition" that fuels your positive core values and has a positive impact on your thinking patterns?
Food for thought...especially (but not just) during the holidays!
Take good care,
Victoria
