You can cultivate the practice of mind awareness to catch the thoughts that hold you back from your dreams and mindfully shift gears into a fresh perspective.
We all do it from time to time. Worry, overthink, expect something to be hard. We approach situations with unquestioned stories that we tell ourselves, that make life harder than it needs to be. I call this negative visioning.
One of the stories I have to catch myself telling is expecting things to be hard. This way of thinking can sneak in, influencing how I feel when I decide to create a new workshop or event. Initially, I am fired up with inspired passion, which soon fades when I think about promoting and filling it. I all too easily remember what has been hard in the past, rather than reflect on my successes. Once I catch myself, I remember that, fortunately, I can choose a perspective that helps me to feel inspired and excited about promoting my event.
Practicing mind awareness is also about catching different self images that we can slip into, such as seeing ourselves as a victim, powerless, not good enough, burdened, alone or different. Equally, we might be compensating for feelings of inadequacy by trying too hard, being pushy or controlling.
Awareness is key to bursting the bubble of illusion. We are all powerful, creative beings. We can use our power to focus on opening to greater possibilities.
We are the ones with the key to unlock our dreams.
Here are three steps you can take to support creating the highest outcomes:
1. Catch yourself when you start thinking self deprecating thoughts about yourself, or thinking about a situation as difficult or overwhelming. You can start with the small things. They are all part of the same habit and are thoughts that hold you back from your dreams.
2. Breathe deeply to relax and drop out of your head into your heart, where you can see more clearly. You can choose to create what you want. You can choose ease by imagining what you want and deciding that it is possible. Even if your chosen outcome doesn’t happen in the way you envisioned, at least you will feel calm enough to handle it in the best possible way.
3. Be willing to try a new approach and discover what you can celebrate as a result. When you’re late for an appointment, imagine the person or people you are meeting feeling pleasantly fine about it, as they smile and tell you that it gave them more time, which they needed too. It’s so much better than arriving in a stew of anxiety and stress. If you are procrastinating, decide to just spend five minutes to begin, as starting is often the hardest. Once you’ve started, you may find that you easily go on for longer.
Train yourself to lighten up about the things you dread or overcomplicate. Discover what happens when you intervene and choose to imagine the best possible scenarios. Open to unexpected insights as you try on the thoughts that take you closer to your dreams.
Nicola Walker is an Anything is Possible mindset coach, with over 25 years of combined life coaching and hypnotherapy experience. She guides people at a turning point in life, to navigate and fulfill their dreams and deepest desires.
She is the author of the forthcoming book, Joy in the Middle of the Mess: An Evolutionary Adventure on the Quest for Success. One of her greatest joys is to walk and hike in the hills and along the beautiful California beaches, near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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