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Sometimes I feel like I am my own mother. I'll catch myself doing something or thinking something, and I give myself a proverbial slap on the hand. Stop it Whitney. Don't go there.

I've learned that it's best to stop thoughts before they even have a chance to breathe. Or I'll just go to bed if I'm thinking too much because sleep forbids my mind to think like that.

Oh gosh..I am just like a mother...telling myself to go to bed if I keep misbehaving.

I've also learned that gratitude is my best friend. When I choose to be grateful for the simplest things, like cheese, I am much happier. The other night was rough. I was sitting on the floor of my room attempting to journal. But messy thoughts were coming out and my mind felt like giving up. I happened to look up and see pictures surrounding the mirror in my room.

Pictures of me with my best friends.

I stared at the pictures longer than I normally do. And a smile found its way to my tear-stained face.

Thank You so much for my friends. I do not deserve them. And they are so good to me.

I thank Him for a lot of things now that I realize the power that gratitude has over me. It's hard to force myself to do, but it honestly works. I just make myself say, out loud, "Thank You for..." and spew out random things that I never even realized were a blessing.

Someday I'll hopefully be a pro at this thing, and thanksgiving will flow freely from my mouth.

And I won't need my figurative hand-slap any longer.

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