Mindfulness changes everything during a life change. Mindfulness taught me that my thoughts are not reality – they’re just thoughts. They’re passing mental activity. It’s what I do with them, or allow them to do is what counts. Harnessing your thoughts, especially when going through a huge life change- can change your life!
Do you spend much of your time overthinking things? Well, stop! You’re not doing much for your mental health, and you’re wasting your precious time and energy. Mindfulness helps us to stop over-thinking and cultivates balance and bliss. We become aware of our triggers and learn to pause so that we may respond, not react. Change is not always easy, especially unwelcome change.
In this post I want to share with you how tour reaction to change can make you happy or unhappy. This is not the whole story but a snippet from my new book about Holistic Living which features mindfulness and issues around mental health. I am in process of writing it. It will be published and made available to you later in the year – so keep a look out for that!
Change is all about us these days, and our reality is vastly different from a year ago. Suddenly we all have become very vulnerable. The world is experiencing an unprecedented catastrophe. Collectively, we weep and grieve. The worldwide pandemic of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is still a reality for us all. This unforeseen disaster has swiftly taken the lives of loved ones, leaving the grieving disillusioned and struggling to make sense of it all. During the government-imposed lockdown, people lost livelihoods, assets, and social freedoms. The economy, families and marriages were all under great strain. People living together every day and night, with no respite, has caused domestic abuse to rise sharply across the world. Families lived in fear of loved ones who were meant to care for and protect them. Basic daily needs became increasingly challenging to meet, and many others became homeless. We stayed home to stay safe and protect the NHS while daily routines and lifestyles were turned upside down. Restricted freedom of movement caused much psychological strain, and people felt hemmed in. Sadly, for some, suicide was the only way out. Change and the losses incurred have been incalculable, unbearable, and extraordinary. Every human being on the planet shared a sense of unspeakable loss, collective grief, and we are left bereaved. Nothing will be the same again. What will your future look like?
Your reaction to Change can Make or Break you.
Change changes everything. It can make you feel like you’re are trapped inside a tomb; at least it feels like it. I feel trapped, unable to find a way out. It’s dark, unwelcoming and very lonely. You feel that No one understands, and you can barely understand it yourself; all you know it hurts, you’re afraid, and you desperately want a way out. Can you relate? Change, mainly if it’s unwelcome, can make you feel broken.
However, Change can be a liberating, happy experience. It can usher in a planned adventure or an unexpected one. Even if it’s unwelcome, Change can open your world view and help you to grow as a person. How change affects you, depends entirely upon your mind set. Is your mindset- your outlook negative or positive?
What are you going to go for today – negative or positive ?
I want to live my life to the full, making it count for something positive. I want to help people and to do that, I must first learn how to help myself, then I have something positive to glean from to offer to others.
Your future begins in your thoughts, decisions, reactions, and actions. My passion for helping others in their well- being while making the Mind, Body. Spirit connection. As a person of faith, for me, it also begins with my faith in Christ.
We need to put first things first, so today, let’s deal with the Mind because that’s where our life structure is created. We care and maintain for our material possessions, but often we neglect to care for and maintain our mind’s health. Is your mind full of unruly thoughts, or are they ordered and functional?
When we plan to take a journey of some kind, we take time to prepare.
We are savvy travellers, so we ensure that we have our navigation tools in hand, ensuring that they work as they should. We then become familiar with them before we get on the road. The visit to the fuel station guarantees that we will complete our journey. If we don’t, there is a good chance of getting lost, taking a detour, or not getting to our intended destination at all. Now we have a goal, we have a plan, we are ready to begin our journey. Approach your thought life the same way. You want Change to MAKE you and not break you, and you need to gather your thoughts to decide where you want to go in your life’s journey.
I am a child of the 50s and have seen a lot of life. I’ve lived and worked in four countries and visited a whole lot of others. I’ve experienced much tragedy, but also triumph, and a whole heap of self-growth. The journey through life, from the very beginning to end, make us who we are. One thing I know that when my thought life has been unruly it has bee detrimental to my whole being. The outcomes aren’t pretty and if one is wise, one does not want to repeat that experience.
An Unruly Thought life is Detrimental to your Health
Dr Travis Bradberry, the co-author of the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0, points out that the average person has 70,000 thoughts each day, and if you don’t learn to organize them, they have the potential to wreak havoc on your productivity. I would add that they can wreak havoc with your life generally. When you succumb to unruly thoughts, your mind becomes disorganized, and the more you Over-Think, on intrusive thoughts, the more power you give them. The more power you give them, the more effects will manifest in your body, mind and Spirit- in other words, your whole life!
Dr Bradberry further points out that ……..
“In a recent study conducted at the National Institute on Aging, it was found that allowing your mind to be disorganized doesn’t just feel bad, it’s also actually bad for you. A disorganized mind leads to high stress, chronic negativity, and impulsivity. These states stifle productivity and contribute to a slew of health problems, including weight gain, heart disease, sleep problems, and migraine headaches.” (2015, weforum.org/ways-to-organize-your-mind-for-maximum-productivity)
Do you want to happily live with those kinds of physical effects ?
If you don’t- then watch out for my next blog post, and I will give you a Few tips on Structuring your thoughts to successful living.
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If feel you would like further support, please contact me. Details of How to get in touch with me is found in the top menu on my home page.
HEAD OVER TO YOU TUBE AND CATCH UP WITH MY VIDEOS and I see you in my next blog post!
Paula Rose Parish
Hope. Faith. Love. 