This is Neil’s latest article on dealing with negative states of mind….
No matter what path you choose in life…
You’re bound to encounter fearful or negative states of mind.
Even after years of therapy, and successfully reparenting yourself, they will inevitably pop up.
But, if you want to get rid of fear, doubt, negativity, or tough emotions…
You may want to consider booking a surgery to have your brain removed.
Otherwise, the best available approach is learning to live with them, by changing your relationship to your inner world…
Which is the most important relationship we have. Because it’s the primary factor that determines the quality of all your other relationships, as well as your levels of fulfillment in all areas of life.
Some messaging in the self-development world tries to sell you on the prospect of a blemish-free life, where rays of pure cosmic bliss are shooting out of every orifice…
Which is an attractive ideal, or transient peak state, but one that’s simply not sustainable.
The skillful approach to unhelpful inner dialogue and states of mind does not involve suppression, or “once-and-for-all” solutions…
It involves creating inner space. Expanding. Noticing. Allowing. Defusing. And replacing.
Whenever a negative state or thought arises, instead of latching on and buying into it, you might defuse it by stepping back and witnessing it…
Which immediately makes it something external, that’s separate from you.
Here’s an elegant yet powerful you can begin putting into action right now…
Take the next negatively charged thought or worry that arises in your mind and place this phrase in front of it: I notice I’m having the thought that…
So, the thought “I’ll fail because I’m not good enough” would become…
“I notice I’m having the thought that I’ll fail because I’m not good enough…”
See what happens. You’ll likely find a sudden sense of distance between you and the thought, as well as diminished anxiety attached to it.
Then, with a bit more inner space, you’re free to make a new choice, and replace the lie with the truth…
That you are enough, capable, worthy…
And you can trust life’s process, with all its uncertainty.
For his latest article: https://www.neilstrauss.com/writing/moving-mountains/