Let’s get personal for a moment. How many times have you said “I hate myself” or “I hate when I do that,” or “I’m dumb?”
Probably more than you’d like to admit, but the truth is, everyone has negative thoughts and sometimes that leads to negative self-talk. That’s why it’s important to meditate so you can clear your mind of all that conscious garbage.
The thing to consider is that when you keep all those negative thoughts circling around in your head, you tend to go to a desperate place where you act out of fear rather than power.
Acting out of fear can lead you to some pretty dark places, so the first thing I would like you to consider when you have these negative thoughts is to think positive. Positive self-talk is extremely powerful and something as simple as an encouraging word or two can take you a long way.
However, for most, it’s simply NOT that easy and I totally get that…
Confront Discomfort
I remember walking around in the winter time when I lived in Alaska. There were times where you had to bundle up so much that you could barely move. And if you had an itch, FORGET IT. You weren’t getting to that itch unless you wanted to spend another 15 minutes unbundling yourself. And half the time, by the time you did that, the itch would be gone.
You know, discomfort is probably one of the most powerful feelings that we can have as human beings besides love.
So you scratch the itch…
Then later you scratch it again…
And again…
You keep scratching the itch until you eventually bleed and are even more pain now from constantly scratching the itch.
The key is to confront that uncomfortable feeling and stay with the itch rather than scratch it.
What I mean here is that when you feel the itch to act on any kind of unhealthy behavior, the best solution rather than to ignore it, or run away from it by sedating, is to choose to confront it.
What Does It Feel Like?
That itch is actually a physical feeling. You feel that itch and it makes you feel uncomfortable. It might be a tightness in your chest, tension in your neck, or an uneasy feeling in your stomach.
The thing to remember is that all sensations are temporary. You don’t have to be afraid that the feeling is gonna last forever. So with that in mind, instead of running from it, just confront that feeling of physical discomfort.
I know it’s hard, but the thing is that like with anything, the more you can expose yourself to that feeling of discomfort the more you become adapted to it. You desensitize yourself to that uncomfortable feeling and you can take on more and more of it until all of a sudden, it stops affecting your behavior.
You’ll begin to change your habits and become a much stronger individual.
The problem for most people is that when they experience that discomfort, they automatically go into story mode. They start telling themselves that they need to get rid of the feeling because they aren’t supposed to feel it, but in all actuality, the purpose of life is to experience it and ALL THE FEELS that come with it.
In other words, you are SUPPOSED to be bored/uneasy/anxious/nervous/uncomfortable because that’s the only way you can grow into a new and more powerful entity that isn’t affected by the stories that your conscious tell you.
So I’m gonna end this today with a mission for you.
I want you to acknowledge the discomfort in your life and run towards it. Don’t ignore it by sedating yourself. Discover how powerful you can be simply by ignoring the stories you tell yourself about why you deserve less than greatness.
One way that I want you to practice doing this is by setting aside just one minute to meditate. If you already meditate more than that, well then double your time for just 30 days.
Yeah, I can already hear the excuses.
I don’t have time…
I’m good already…
I don’t know how to meditate…(BTW if you really don’t know how to meditate, click here for step by step instructions)
Stop with the stories, stop with the excuses. I know you want to be great, but you’ve been lying to yourself for way too long. It’s your time to be great and the only way you can do that is by letting yourself feel the truth and all the discomfort that goes with it.
Jerry “itchy” Washington
P.S. It’s not easy to be great. If it was, everyone would be doing it. So, for you to even consider taking action, says a lot about you. The next step is to change your story broham. You are greater than any of your excuses or stories you tell yourself. It’s just a matter of being brave and having enough love for the gift of life to realize what a great individual you could be if you simply stopped being afraid growth. Talk soon…
