We think thousands of thoughts a day! THOUSANDS!!! Only a handful of those are useful. The rest threatened to tamper with our progress by bringing up past events, judgements and comparisons, among other things.
As a performer, thoughts can distract and cause me to lose focus to the point of following my chain of thought directly where I don’t want to go! For example, when I am preparing a lecture and I notice a typo. If I don’t fix it, I will know it’s there and expect everyone in the room to notice too. Now I’m distracted by the mistake and, at least momentarily, lose my focus. Not really a good direction when you are trying to keep everyone engaged.
Thoughts can doom us to failure because we tend to go where they lead.
Maybe you’re getting ready for a date with someone you would like to build a relationship with and you are thinking how you have nothing in common, this dress makes me look fat, what if it ends badly like my last date?- you are setting yourself up to feel bad, or expect something to go wrong. Guess what? You’ll probably be right.
Henry Ford said “whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”
So thoughts can take you anywhere and only you can control your thoughts and where they take you.
Non-thought is the act of releasing your thoughts completely. There are so many different ways to achieve this so you might want to try a variety of approaches here. The purpose of non-thought is to allow yourself to float free from the tether of thoughts for even just a minute. This gives you a sense of release, which can lead to calm, relaxation, room for new ideas, and a higher energy level that can come with vacation or a walk on the beach, or anything that makes you feel free and able to enjoy the moment.
Stress will make our lives feel out of control as we try to keep up with the “to do” list or the deadlines. So why not take 30 seconds right now and breathe. Box breathing is probably the easiest thing to start with. Using the same amount of seconds for each of the four steps, focus only on the breath. I usually start with 4 seconds.
1. Breathe in 2. Hold 3. Breathe out 4. Hold
Your thoughts will be there when you’re done and maybe, just maybe, they will feel easier and lighter when you pick them up and stuff them back into your brain again.
Make 2023 the year you regain control of your own life, starting with your thoughts.
Happy New Year!
Vanderslice Coaching 