Thoughts are not facts.
But we operate as if they are.
Being aware of our thoughts, without getting entangled in them, gives us a chance at peace and growth.
Meditation helps with awareness.
It gives us a chance to have space between thought and action.
Contact me if you want to learn more about meditation – what it is, what it isn’t [e.g., it is NOT clearing your mind] – and how to get started.
It’s only with this space that we have a chance to behave differently and get different results in our lives.
This space gives us a chance to see our thoughts without engaging all of them.
We can see our thoughts, not be our thoughts.
Give yourself a break from fixing, analyzing, criticizing, and planning.
With this break, you will notice more ease, peace, clarity, and acceptance.
Here are some other ways to check in with your thoughts:
– Get a council of people who are healthy and interested in improving their insides, not just their 5K time or weight on the scale.
– Say your thoughts out loud (preferably to one of the people in your council).
– Be honest with yourself. You’ve likely had these same thoughts and behaviors time and again. Play the tape out to the end…ask yourself:
- What action/inaction am I likely to take if I believe my thought?
- What outcomes are likely to occur from this action/inaction?
Do you want to keep getting the same results?
If not, you’ll need to take a new action, maybe get some new thoughts.
Most of us have difficulty getting to the point where we can “check in,” because our thoughts and subsequent actions are so habitual that they are happening before we know it.
We are mired in the minutiae of our thoughts, rather than hovering above them.
A key to change is creating space, which allows for you to be aware of your thoughts, so that you can choose different actions.
Lara
