As humans, we need to make sense of our world and what happens to us.
In order to close the loops in our minds we tend to make up stories to explain what’s happening to us.
Let me give you an example:
Ross and went to the gym and later, over coffee, Ross asked me how I felt on a particular machine at the gym that morning.
“Ok”, I said. “Why do you ask?”
“You know the settings were different on each side of the machine?” he sort of asked but really told me.
“Oh. I just thought my left arm was weaker than my right.”
He laughed. “No, the settings were completely different, which caused one arm to work harder than the other.”
One thing led to another and we found ourselves discussing how much we make up in our own minds to explain events.
The conversation then moved to the work by Michael A. Singer from his book “The Untethered Soul” where Michael explains how our minds work and how it is futile to fight with our mind.
Essentially, we are asking our minds to make us feel okay; to make it so that everyone likes us and so the mind has to think about this constantly. It argues with itself and according to Singer, “If you fight with your mind, you lose.”
You might try suppressing the thoughts, but that only works for a little while and eventually the thoughts surface and come back at you at a later time.
The way to resolve the issue is to observe your mind. Become the one who watches. When you observe you can see that your mind is working overtime to make everything ok.
The trick is to gently disengage from it. Separate yourself from your thinking mind, because it is not you. You are the one who watches the mind.
You won’t quiet the mind, so don’t try. Rather, don’t listen. Relax and simply observe.
Your mission this week is to observe the stories your mind is making up.
Observe the fights that occur in your mind and simply let go.
Let me know how you go.
P.S. Our next Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience and Loyal Lieutenant Masterclass Series will both start in February 2024. Early bird discounts apply, so keep an eye out for more information to come.
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