Is it possible to have positive thoughts while you are going through fertility treatments? I am the first to admit that I was not very good at it. I seriously doubt that I even tried. I truly believed that I needed a baby to be happy and that my life was going to be miserable until I held my baby in my arms.

I have been through other equally as challenging life circumstances since my infertility years, and I have learned that the thoughts we generate have a lot to do with how good or bad we feel in our current circumstances. Even when we are frustrated with our life circumstances, we can feel better about ourselves as we change our thoughts.

For most of the time I was going through fertility treatments, my thoughts were negative. I was constantly thinking things like I was going to die if I did not get pregnant this month or that I could not be happy until I held my baby in my arms.

However, I have met couples who have been able to stay calmer while facing fertility challenges. (Admittedly, I set a low bar!) They were, of course, upset about their struggles with getting pregnant, but their ability to conceive did not define who they were. For me, everything in my life was colored by my inability to conceived while, for them, their lives, marriages, and other aspects were still enough for them to embrace life even in the midst of their fertility challenges.

How do people manage to stay content even while facing fertility challenges? The secret is in your thoughts. If you are constantly thinking that your life is worthless without a child, then you are going to feel miserable most of the time. However, if you think that your life is great but will be even better once a baby joins it, then you will feel more content even as you struggle to conceive. It is all about the half-empty versus the half-full view of life.

I am not discounting the enormity of the pain of infertility. I have lived it, so I understand how hard it is. However, some people do manage to face infertility without believing that their lives are not worth living until a baby comes along. I believe that positive thoughts are what make the difference.

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Photo credit: Lynda Bernhardt