Tending Your Garden with CBT

"Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds."

I once saw this as a meme several years ago. It had such an impact on me that I painted a picture of flowers and wrote the verse on the canvas. It made me think of the ways I was tending to the thoughts in my brain. Was I letting my thoughts go wild and untamed? Or was I nurturing them, providing them with water and sunlight so they could grow into healthy and rational beliefs?

Gardens go through seasons of rest and seasons of growth. During seasons of growth, gardeners frequently step back to assess their gardens. How is their garden growing? Do they need to prune back some plants? Do they need to water or fertilize more?

What are you willing to cut back so you are able to grow? Thoughts of self-doubt? Thoughts of anger or resentment regarding past hurts? Thoughts about future worries and troubles that you cannot control?

What are you willing to add or change so you can flourish? Thoughts of patience and kindness to yourself? Mindfulness to practice living in the here and now? Seven to eight hours of restful sleep a night?

Tending to your garden is one of the most important jobs you can do. If you do not tend your garden, it will grow unmanageable, causing chaos to your relationships and your health. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

is a counseling technique that can help you sort through your thoughts, identifying themes of unhelpful thinking patterns that are affecting your feelings, behaviors, health, and relationships. A counselor can help you find ways to replace unhealthy thinking patterns with healthier patterns of thinking and being. Consider adding Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to your gardening tools as a way to help tend to your garden.