This tip is the first in a wonderful series of tips that Minnie and I are tremendously excited about!  This tip, and the tips that will follow, are about how we can change the way we feel.

Elves often believe that we have no control over the way we feel.  Feelings just happen!  What can I possibly do to change them?!

Yet, a human named Dr. Burns has discovered a way that humans can change from feeling sad, anxious, frustrated, or angry to feeling something better.  Thankfully, this simple method seems to be working on the elves, too!

The very first step we need to take to change the way we feel is to write things down:  write down what we are feeling and, most important, exactly what we are thinking when we don’t feel good.  When we don’t feel good, it is usually because we are thinking negative thoughts.

Negative thoughts are pesky.  They like to chase after us and surround us.

However, when we write the negative thoughts down on paper, put them right into a journal, we get some distance from these thoughts.  Off they go, into the journal!

It feels better to put unhappy thoughts into another place, and even this first step can give us a bit of relief!

If we remember to bring a small notebook wherever we go, we can quickly jot down our feelings and thoughts whether we are at school, riding on a bus, or anywhere!

If ever we are not exactly sure what we are feeling or thinking, Dr. Burns has another wonderful suggestion, one that our illustrator elves love!

First, draw yourself—and this can be a simple stick figure drawing.  (Minnie and I draw stick figures.  We are not illustrator elves at all.)

Then, draw a nice big bubble for a thought.

Then, fill in the empty bubble with your thoughts and feelings.  (For some mysterious reason, we seem to know how to fill in the bubble once it is there.)

The next step is to examine the thoughts and feelings we have written down, one by one.

This step is fascinating, and you will certainly not want to miss it!  changing-way-feel-step-2