This past week I had quite an interesting mind shift. Right after I self-engaged in a mind fuck.
I got a new puppy a few months ago, Sammy. He is certainly a handful! Of course, he’s mostly adorable, charming, and embodies all the sweetness of a little furry baby. Oh, and did I mention he is feisty? Super feisty.
I’ve been thinking lately I’m not doing a good enough job taking care of him. I have been consumed with worry. I worry a lot when I leave him for a few hours. Now mind you, we have another more mature dog, Bella, and they have become best buds. And I work from home.
I’m constantly checking in on the camera to watch his behavior when I am out of the home. I worry that he doesn’t feel like he’s getting enough love. I worry that I’m somehow going to damage or injure him by not being enough of a caretaker and teacher for him. I have been so consumed with worry and it is starting to affect other areas in my life.
When we are consumed with worry, it truly takes over. Sometimes we become obsessive and can’t focus on anything else. Sometimes, when we worry, it leads to sadness and anxiety.
But what is worrying really all about?
Well I learned big time this morning, through this huge shot of inspiration that just came over me. It provided a MAJOR MINDSET SHIFT.
Worrying is like planning a future event. Worrying is wasting time and mind real estate thinking about a scenario that may never happen. And it probably will never happen. And if there is no evidence of the scenario ever, having actually happened, then it is truly a lost cause.
So is worrying necessary?
I think not. I think worrying is just a messed up way our brain tells us to deal with something. Worrying leads to nothing good. Worrying is truly a waste of time.
So why do we spend time worrying?
Because that could be our go to way of dealing with a situation? Because it’s what we’re used to? Because it is the only way we know to deal with any situation? Because it feels good? Yeah, NO.
Now understand…………….worrying does not lead to anything good.
What if you understood you can deliberately and consciously choose another emotion to feel? Do you know that you are always, 100%, in total control of your feelings?
Once I remembered this, and remembered this mad skill that I am quite excellent at, I realized I don’t have to choose to “worry” about my puppy. I mean, he is so well-adjusted, so happy and joyful, and I am certainly just creating drama and creating a scenario that has NEVER, and most likely will NEVER happen.
A true waste, a true fucking waste of time.
Friends, we get to choose what we feel. And the way we do that is by deliberately and consciously, choosing what we think.
In the coaching world, we do this process called a “thought download”. I do it every morning and sometimes twice every day.
What a though download is, is a way to dump all the bullshit thoughts our brain is feeding us. Those bullshit thoughts hurt us. And most importantly, those bullshit thoughts are not true. That’s what I was experiencing with “worry”.
It takes a conscious and deliberate decision, choice, and desire to make a mindset shift. Even if you have never done that, you have the ability to do it. It is just a choice.
So now, my new thought, that I am choosing, about my puppy is that I am taking VERY good care of him, and I am feeling love, and the result is I am practicing the ultimate in self-care for myself, because I have consciously decided not to choose the emotion of worry.
A few weeks of messy thinking, has now lead me to remember my superpower of shifting my thought BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO DO THAT. We are always 100% in charge of the thoughts our brain feeds us.
If you would like to know more about this mindset shift skill, set up a free 45-minute mini session with me and I can take you through the process.
Your mind will be blown.
InCourage,
~Coach Lisa XOXO