Intro by Skip Cohen
There’s so much great content on the Internet, and Nicole Begley’s “Hair of the Dog” blog is jam-packed with great information, especially when she steps into our personal space with so many different things we can all relate to.
Reading this post from her archives, it got me thinking about one of my favorite quotes.
“It’s just a bad day – not a bad life!”
Author Unknown
From time to time, all of us get caught up in what’s called a self-fulfilling prophecy. In other words, if you define a situation as hopeless, it will be! It’s that troll inside our head working against us, and when we let it control our opinion on something it’ll win every time.
So the next time you start your day and feel a little defeated before you get out of bed, switch up your game. Do something different. For me, just taking a walk tends to clear my head. And, if you’ve got a partner at home, it always helps me to have a conversation with Sheila and get a little help in figuring out why I’m feeling overwhelmed and in a slump.
Here’s my point – it starts with all of us first recognizing there’s something negative holding us back. Once we spot our own issues, the next step is to respect them, understand the problem, and then lock them up for the day! I know I’m making it sound so simplistic, but you’ve got to be your own cheerleader sometimes and listen to your heart rather than that little troll in your head, blowing things out of proportion.
by Nicole Begley
I know that you’ve had the days in which everything seems to be going wrong. You get up late, the cat pukes on the carpet (or on your bed), you can’t find a parking spot, you get to work and forget your lunch, and your boss drops a crazy project on your lap 10 minutes before it’s time to go home…
We’ve all had them. The days when one annoying thing leads to another and leads to yet another. What if there was a simple way to avoid days like this? Or at least short circuit them before they get out of control.
The truth is that the energy we hold onto is the energy that is attracted to our life. If we are convinced today is going to suck – our brains are going to be looking for evidence that supports that theory. We will literally see the clouds over EVERYTHING.
While we can’t make ourselves immune to a bad day – there is one simple thing that we can do to help ensure that those days are few and far between – in the first 60 seconds of your day.
Tell the truth…how often do you wake up and the FIRST thing you say to yourself is –
“I’m tired.” “I didn’t get enough sleep.” “I’m so exhausted.”
When you say something like that to yourself, you are starting your day from an immediate place of scarcity and lack. Your first thoughts often set the stage for your ENTIRE DAY!
I have a challenge for the next 7 days. I challenge you to wake up and stretch in your bed and notice how comfortable you are – notice how warm you are….and then be THANKFUL for a restful restorative sleep on such a fine bed.
Next, it’s time to get up. Instead of “I have to…”, reframe it to “I get to…”. Find the positive – for there is always a positive. Even if you don’t like your job, are you thankful that you get to see your coworkers? Are you thankful that you have health insurance? Are you thankful for the security of a steady paycheck while you build your business?
Even if you do love your job, it’s easy to get sucked into focusing on the parts that you don’t love. When you find yourself feeling down or starting to complain – STOP. Train yourself to find the positive in the situation and be thankful for that positive.
Focus on the good…and watch it expand.
