“I don’t have enough time.” “I’m so stressed out.” “I feel stuck.” Do any of those phrases sound familiar to you? If so, it might be time to change your mantra.
I was listening to the Mindvalley podcast, and a speaker on there was talking about reducing our stress by becoming less reactive to things. The example he used was being stuck behind a very slow driver. Those of us who drive often can probably relate to this. We find ourselves making all kinds of comments and grumbles – “Come on!” “Ugh, why today?” “Come on grandma, get a move on!” All of that stress we are creating which is only affecting us. The driver in front of you cannot hear you, unless you are shouting out the window. Even if they do hear you, they are not likely to change their behavior. So why is it we get so wound up over someone else’s behavior.
We all have set ways of doing things. Why do we believe our way is better than the way someone else does it? What if instead of instantly getting all flustered, we could pause, take a breath and say – I can handle this. Instead of letting our mind race to a million places- “I”m going to be late for work.” “How can they let people like that have a license?” “Why did I have the bad luck to be behind this person?”, what if we stopped and used a mantra? I can handle this. I can handle this. I can handle this.
By simply changing the thought in our head, it signals to our mind to start looking for solutions. The other mind chatter does us no good, or worse, it can send us into a spiral of negative or anxious emotion. I can handle this. It’s affirmative. It’s decisive. It’s a positive solution starter.
Recently I had to go in for a diagnostic mammogram, because the doctor saw a few things that could have been a concern. Well, as I headed into the hospital I was repeating the mantra – I can handle this. I knew it wasn’t likely that they would need to do anything more than take a few more images, but the reality was there that it could have been something more. Was it worth spinning my mind around all the possibilities? Was it worth lowering my vibration with negative thinking? No, so I walked in there with confidence that I could handle anything that happened. As the doctor started to speak, I repeated in my mind, I can handle this. I was extremely happy to find out that the follow-up images showed there was no current need for concern. But if the doctor had said something else, I feel like I would have been in a state to not spin out of control with my thoughts.
I can handle this, and anything else that comes my way today or in the future. I have control of my thoughts. I create my own peace. Try this mantra and see if it helps you stop that reactionary thinking that often creates more stress in our lives. You CAN handle this, and maybe you just need to acknoweldge it. As Mike Dooley says- “thoughts become things, so choose wisely.”
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