Shit Happens Part II

Take a Firm Grip on Your Mind – then blow it out your ASS….

If you don’t take control someone else will.

How does this happen? Simple. The next time “shit happens” or something upsets you, don’t just give into the feelings and emotions, take the time as an opportunity for change.

Remember you don’t have to give in to the anger, the depression, the anxiety or the inadequacy. You don’t have to roll over to the onslaught of emotion that often takes over. Pay attention and watch your mind. Put on your own “Low Jack” and don’t let “others” take it for any unauthorized spin. Take a firm grip on any thought that is negative and then “kick it out”. Challenge it by disputing the negativity and then let it go… Yes, it, the thought or emotion, feels logical but it is lieing to you. The more intense it is, the more unlikely that it is TRUE. Logical, Yes… Rational, NO! The thoughts I mean, not your mind!

More than likely the feeling or thought you are experiencing is an irrational mental play and the foundation of strong negative, controlling emotions that are building up or have built up over time. They are the same processes that put you on the Emotional Roller Coaster that seem to control your behavior, your thoughts and your feelings. Yes, it is easy to say but this is NOT so easy to do. It takes effort! Consistent effort and awareness on your part…. If you really want to be in control of YOU, then you have to beware of YOU and your thoughts ALL the time.

First of all, everyone has hundreds and even thousands of thoughts that take a stroll through our minds every day. As many are all aware of; “Some don’t stroll, they take us hostage”!

These are the negative, upsetting thoughts that emanate, almost instantaneously, through our mind and drain us of most anything positive; our energy, our attitude, our behaviors – everything…. You feel it when you get angry, depressed, anxious and inadequate. Many of us believe that we can’t change and that is just the way things are.… As I’ve said before, “shit happens”.

We believe that when something happens it causes us to feel a certain way and then we have to “react” to that feeling. In other words, what happens dictates our feelings and our feelings dictate our behavior. You have no control, “Shit Happens”! The event or “bad thing” dictates how you feel about something and that feeling tells you how to respond. Again, you have no control. “Shit happens” and you can do nothing about the result.

Popular belief, true, but nothing is further from the truth! “Shit happens”, yes, but you can do something. You can take control of your thoughts, your emotions and your behavior. I know taking responsibility when you’re at your lowest is not your idea of fun but it is something you have to do if you want any “peace of mind” and NO, it is not a ONE TIME EFFORT. Your effort to stop the constant onslaught and prattle of the mind needs to be an ongoing process that does not stop at one attempt. If you want to be the one in control of your feelings and your behavior, it has to be an ongoing practice; one that starts now and continues the rest of your life.

You CHANGE they way you think and you CONFRONT beliefs that drive the disabling emotion. In turn, you make CHOICES about your behavior. NO, you don’t have to be taken hostage by Roller Coaster Feelings and Out of Control Emotions and Behaviors!

It is your decision to be in charge of your thoughts, your beliefs, your feelings and your behavior. The good news? It does become easier the more it is exercised. As with most things, with use comes ease and it can become almost instantaneous.

To stop this Roller Coaster Ride of irrational feelings, beliefs and behaviors you have become aware of what your mind is saying about what is happening around you on a daily basis. It is all about being “mindful” of daily events and situations. Once aware, you need to make a conscious choice to challenge and break into any negative beliefs or judgments you harbor about any current or past situations.

How do you do this? Well, we will talk about the specifics next time…. Until then, you have choices to make…. I’ve made mine… You have to make yours?

Isn’t it time to take back what you didn’t even know you had given away in the first place? In this day and age of cleansing our bodies of toxins, isn’t it time to cleanse our mind and take full responsibility for what we do, how we feel and what we think?

Yes, bad things still happen to good people. We can’t change that but we can change how we deal with these events, how it ultimately affects us and in turn what we do, how we feel and what we think.

Until next time, as a wise fourteen year old once told me; “Just because it is clear to you, doesn’t mean you can fly through it”.