It’s easy to give up and hard to choose life – but it is possible, and it can get easier.
One of our passions at I Am Youth is to exhort and encourage young people to consistently choose to live with hope, faith, and joy. Like everything in life, including life itself, we receive good things, but we are responsible for conserving them as best we can. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but we can at least try.
This is why it is important to maintain mental health by using practical methods. There are Biblically aligned principles that you can use to help get you through each day, especially if you battle with “negative” thoughts.
Building the habits and principles of hope, faith, and joy means you choose to live by these regardless of circumstances. Granted, endless tough times can wear you down and bring you to a breaking point. Nevertheless, your greatest superpower is in deciding to be strengthened by the adversities you face. You can also allow it to break you.
Yes, this is easier said than done, but which good habit is easy to maintain? Every habit lies within our choice to practice discipline over what feels good or familiar at the moment. From this discipline, you strengthen your resilience-o-meter. We possess a certain level of resilience, but its like a muscle and you strengthen it with your mindful approach to life. The one thing you can control in your approach is your thoughts.
“There are a lot of people who are offended by the idea that “we create our reality.” They see it as a version of blaming the victim. Nobody asks for bad things to happen to them.” – Jennice Vilhauer, Ph.D.
It is true that what you think you become. So think good thoughts. Sure, it’s easier said than done, but it does take practice. Therefore, practising awareness of your thoughts and learning to “reroute” may help you feel better; if you don’t feel better, they’ll at least help you do better. This practice is called Neuro-Linguistic Programming. “It’s a neat manoeuvre to help you change your thoughts and behaviours to help achieve desired outcomes for them. It may reduce anxiety and improve overall wellbeing.” – Medical News Today.
This is one of the few methods we share with learners during our Mental Health Awareness school and community visits to help pupils regain their power by understanding that their thoughts and emotions may be overwhelming. However, each one of us is still capable of controlling them. We are not as hopeless or helpless as our thoughts may lead us to believe.
A thought is just a thought, and a thought can be changed, so you be encouraged to know that you are in charge of your thoughts. Not the other way around. You need not fear “negative” thoughts and emotions; you can learn to master them.
We are here to encourage and empower you to learn how to do that, and we would love to visit your school. Book a school or community visit. You can also reach out for free counselling – you are not alone!
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I Am Youth web radio is the go-to platform for today’s young adults. Our team of young, charismatic influencers is based in South Africa. We produce high-quality content on TikTok social media and YouTube. Our primary goal is to infiltrate the spaces that young people already occupy.
