For those of you who read my New Years post last week, you know that my word for 2016 is FLOW. The image that comes up for me when I picture this word, is a moving river.
I’m not typically the type who describes things in an artsy, or symbolic way, but hey, every day is a new day, and today, I’m feelin’ kinda poetic. When I visualize that river, I see the water flowing forward. It easily goes over and under rocks and branches, and keeps on moving. That’s how I’d like to be…always.
Those rocks and branches and other obstructions are like our thoughts. We live in a happier state when we become the water. I hope I haven’t lost you…I promise I’m going somewhere with this (sometimes a visual helps me with a new concept). Our thoughts about everything in our lives regularly try and stop us from moving forward, and it’s up to us to decide if we want get held up by our obstructive thoughts, or if we want to go with the flow.
Now I’m seeing a car in my mind’s eye. (I’m not sure where all this imagery is coming from today, but hey, I’m just gonna FLOW with it 🙂 ). The driver is a New York City taxi driver, and his foot keeps alternating between the gas and the brake…stop, go, stop, go, stop. This is how most people actually live their lives, and our thoughts are what stop us. I could never do that. What will people think? I’m too scared to try something new. What if I fail? What if they don’t like me? If I do X, the effect could be Y or Z.
Life presents us with something; we stop and think about it. We make a decision; we think about it, weigh the pros and cons, and sometimes question it or doubt ourselves. We move forward with our decisions; we think about it. Think, think, think, analyze, form opinions.
While sometimes we need those thoughts to help us avoid danger, more often than not, those thoughts don’t serve us. It’s just our reptilian brain (the part of the brain that still thinks we are living in the stone age, and if we step out of our caves, we may get eaten by a lion). Fortunately, most of us don’t have to worry about that type of danger in our lives, so we don’t need to buy into all of those thoughts that constantly play in our head.
So what do we do with those thoughts? They’re often very difficult to ignore, but becoming aware of them is the first step in learning to ignore the ones that we don’t need. You’d be surprised at how many we don’t need! We have around 60,000 thoughts a day, and around 80% of them are negative. I’m guessing you’d be happy to live without a few of those bad boys!
Awareness brings a new level of consciousness, which is extremely powerful when it comes to making changes. In fact, sometimes just becoming aware, is enough for old habits to dissipate. The best way to start identifying those pesky thoughts that stop you from flowing, is by simply paying attention to your mood. If you’re cranky, you know it’s time to check your thoughts. If you notice your mind is going in circles, chances are, those thoughts don’t serve you.
Once you identify those thoughts that are holding you back and/or making you cranky, try and just notice them, stop engaging in the mind chatter, and move onto something new. An easy way to do that is to just notice your surroundings or focus on the task at hand. Bring your thoughts to the present moment.
Being able to flow with life, rather than doubting, questioning, and analyzing can be a true gift. It allows us to engage in our activities more readily, connect with those around us more easily, and enjoy our lives more thoroughly. Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow!
That’s it; that’s all I got for ya!
Happy day lovely people!
