This is my gentle reminder to you.
Use this PAUSE season with intention.
Take on managing your mind as a new habit.
PAUSE.
Become aware of your inner landscape.
What’s going on in that mind of yours?
Hold yourself in a cocoon of gentle compassion no matter what shows up.
Panic, self-loathing, jealousy, grief.
You can handle it.
I confess. I do a lot of work to manage my mind.
The thoughts in my mind are often like an unsupervised child running around the house with scissors.
Can you relate?
We are often our own worst enemies.
We can all use some help to better manage our minds during this time of PAUSE* and the roller coaster ride between panic, calm and denial.
Practice taking action from your intentional thoughts and feelings while accepting and allowing all your unintentional thoughts.
The key word is practice.
Choosing to act from intentional thoughts and feelings requires awareness.
Awareness of the thoughts that zip across our minds.
And then showing up for ourselves with compassion.
“Oh, yeah, there’s that thought again.”
That thought about ourselves, “I’m a mess.”
Or that thought “I’m not enough.”
Accepting and allowing the thought to pass through without holding on to it.
It’s just a series of words strung together.
The thought appears to be true.
Yet there is the slight possibility that the thought you are thinking – might NOT be true.
Be willing to open to the possibility that the thought you are thinking may not be true.
Despite all the evidence you’ve collected
You might not be a mess.
Maybe you ARE enough.
If you weren’t thinking “I’m a mess” or “I’m not enough.”
As if that thought just didn’t exist.
What else might show up for you?
Who else might you be?
You might think you can think this through by yourself in your own brain and get to the other side of it.
It sounds so simple.
Truth is, if it was so simple, you would have figured it out on your own already.
Increase the odds in your favor.
Explore your mind and capture it in writing.
Or better yet, with a coach trained to listen for those tricky thoughts you believe to be true.
“I’m a mess.”
“I’m not enough.”
There you are, thought.
Gotcha!
Let’s write it down.
“I’m a mess” or “I’m not good enough” or whatever thought your mind is tangled up in.
Now, what if that thought was no longer available to you?
What other thought might arise?
Maybe, “This is temporary. This will pass.”
Or “I have a unique gift to contribute that no one else has and shares in the way I do.”
Allow the new thought to exist in your mind.
Feel it in your body.
Experience the body sensations of this new thought.
Find evidence for this new thought.
Recall 3 instances when you have experienced this to be true.
“This is temporary. This will pass.”
Write it down.
Accept.
Allow.
Now stand in it.
From this new place – this magic hula hoop space, from this empowering inner conversation.
Stand here and create something new.
Take action from your new thought.
What action might you take from, “This is temporary. This will pass.”
OR “I have a unique gift to contribute that no one else has and shares in the way I do.”
Sounds so simple.
This does not come easy, Sweet Pea.
We practice.
Then practice again.
And fail.
Then practice again.
Don’t give up.
Especially in the initial days of managing your mind as a habit.
When it’s a new practice.
Lots of gear grinding.
Have compassion for yourself.
You will fail often.
Come back to compassion.
Managing your mind requires determination and a willingness to be with your imperfect self.
This PAUSE time is a perfect opportunity to slow down, to turn inward and become intimate with your Self.
Who are you anyway? Do you know?
Rest.
Be still.
Observe yourself.
Take an inventory.
Be honest.
Stop the running with scissors.
No more distraction and numbing with busy-ness or alcohol or overspending.
What else remains when all the hustle & bustle are gone?
Re-set.
What is your intention?
At the end of this PAUSE – who do you want to be?
Choose it.
Don’t default it.
Write it down.
Make a declaration.
Share your intention with as many people as possible.
During – and after – this PAUSE I choose to be connection, generosity & contribution.
Post, email, text – Tell me, who will you be during and after PAUSE season 2020?
Today is the day.
Go out and practice.
Take on managing your mind as a new habit.
Use this PAUSE season with intention.
P.S. I am not a fortune teller. We are all operating in the mode of one day at a time. (Thank goodness for my 12 step days.)
My best guess is that we will have another 3-6 weeks of extended PAUSE with its required physical distancing.
Some of us are quite content with this alone time and communications using all the technologies. (And our reduced carbon footprint.)
And some of us are about to blow a gasket. How much self talk can one do? Or the kids and the spouse are driving us CRA-Z! How much counting to 10 can I do?
In the spirit of connection, generosity and contribution I will continue to offer free coaching (over the phone) through the month of April for anyone who wants help managing their thoughts and feelings during this extended PAUSE season. This includes past and current clients. I love you and I am here to help.
You can schedule your free coaching session here.
In addition I am offering mini mind-set coaching sessions via email or text. DM me if you are interested and want more information.
Most important.
Keep taking care of yourself.
Do what works for you.
Here are 4 suggestions to make it easier to manage your mind through this time of PAUSE:
1. Get enough sleep. Establish a bedtime routine and follow it.
2. Get outside every day. Rain or shine. Take a walk.
3. Appreciate what is working well for you in the world. Write 3 things you are grateful for every day.
4. Get a care buddy. Call them every day. Ask how they are and what they are up to. Listen with love & compassion.
With all my love,
Gail
*PAUSE – Policies Assure Uniform Safety for Everyone
Read my other BLOG posts on this topic: Marie Kondo Your Mind; Stand Powerfully in the Unknown; Change Your Story
by Heart Light Digital