Changing Your View: How Seeing Things Differently Can Make You Feel Better

By Mike Thomas, NBHWC May 30, 2024

Everyone feels sad or upset sometimes—it’s normal. But getting stuck in those feelings isn’t good for us. As a health coach, both in my own life and my clients, I’ve seen how changing the way we look at things can really help.

For example, when I go to a funeral, it’s usually a sad day. But by the time I leave, I often feel different, like I’ve been reminded of how important life is. This change in how I see things often helps me get over my sadness.

There’s something interesting about our emotions: it’s difficult to feel sad or worried if you’re also feeling grateful. This idea has been very helpful to me. For example, if my truck is dirty and it starts to bother me, instead of staying upset, I remind myself to be thankful that I have a truck that starts when I need it. Many people don’t have that. This small shift in thinking can significantly improve my mood.

Down on Yourself?

Many times when I start a coaching call with a client, they begin by saying they haven’t been “good” with their eating or have been “bad” at completing their workouts. I usually respond by asking them to look at how they’ve done with their eating and exercise over the past month compared to a year ago. This often helps change their perspective.

Got Complaints?

Complaining about things we can’t change doesn’t help us. It might feel good for a moment, but it doesn’t fix anything. John Wooden, a famous basketball coach, learned from his dad to “Don’t whine, don’t complain.” This is good advice because moaning about stuff actually makes us feel worse in the long run.

This isn’t just about getting over a bad mood; it’s about building a way of thinking that changes how we live. It even affects how we talk and act. Do our words lift others up, or are we the kind of person who brings everyone down? What we say and how we act really impacts our lives and others’.

In short, changing how we see things doesn’t just help us for a moment; it’s a way to live better and healthier. Let’s try to be the person who makes any room brighter just by being there. By changing our view, we can change our world.

Call To Action

My challenge for you is to try an experiment for just one day. What if, for 24 hours, you paid close attention to your thoughts? Set a goal to track your thoughts and do it.

For example, you could set a timer to go off every 30 minutes. When it does, check in with yourself. What are you thinking about? Are your thoughts negative? What caused that? What can you do to shift your thoughts? This one day experiment could help you understand what’s on your mind and give you a chance to “Change Your View” and make progress.

God Bless

Mike

Mike Thomas is a health coach. He helps busy professionals who struggle with low energy, high stress and chronic pain.

Learn more about Mike

This blog is for educational and informational purposes only and solely as a self-help tool for your own use. I am not providing medical, psychological, or nutrition therapy advice. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your own medical practitioner. Always seek the advice of your own medical practitioner and/or mental health provider about your specific health situation. For my full Disclaimer, please go to CoachMikeThomas.com.