Interesting thought for the day-
It’s pretty easy this time of year to settle into the mindset that we are struggling, suffering and falling behind.
Remember that a few weeks ago we discussed that we only have 2 states of being:
- Primal – this is the one that doesn’t make you feel good, it’s tied to the fight, flight or freeze idea and includes feelings like struggle, suffering, anxiety, fear, depression, etc.
- Positive / Powerful – this is the one that makes you feel great, more creativity, peace, happiness, calm, etc.
If you’re feeling the things I mentioned up at the top of this email, you are in a primal state of being. It’s really hard to be productive, creative or just find peace within that state. But until we realize that our state of being is our choice, it can feel impossible to switch to the positive / powerful state of being.
We all want to feel great. No one wants to feel poorly (physically or mentally).
To take this a step further, our brains are goal achieving machines.
What we ask of our brain, it will deliver. When we ask questions like:
- Why am I so stressed?
- What am I doing wrong?
- How do I always get behind?
- Why don’t I feel in control?
We receive answers that we didn’t want. Our brains dig up all previous evidence (ie. memories) from past events that prove what we just assumed through our questions and will show us every reason why those things are and “should” be happening.
It’s when we start to take control of our situations through our questions and understanding of our minds that we start to see progress out of the primal hole we’ve dug ourselves into. Questions like:
- What can I do to organize my day so I don’t feel so stressed?
- Who can I ask for help from to fix this situation?
- How could I delegate better so I feel like I’m on schedule?
- Which pieces of my life do I have control over that I may not be addressing?
This reminds me of a talk that I was listening to around the time that my first kiddo was pretty young. It was talking about how when you have a child at the park climbing on something that it’s better to tell them “remember to hold on” rather than to say something like “don’t fall”. And that’s because your brain will hold on to the words that were said like “hold on” or “fall” and since our brains are goal achieving machines it will try to make us obey the words said.
So as you can see, though it may not be the easiest thing to do, it’s your mindset whether positive or primal that will set the tone for how you will finish out 2020. Don’t let the rest of the year or what’s happening in this moment dictate your next 21 days.
Instead make a new choice/decision to live in a positive / powerful state of being and open the door to possibility over the next 21 days.
