Hi guys! Welcome to Episode 346 of the Wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast! Thanks for listening and sharing and also giving me a 5 star rating if you’re loving the show. If you’re on Spotify you do that by going to my show clicking on the 3 little dots at the top right and clicking rate the show. If you’re on Apple go to my show and scroll all the way down to leave a rating and a review. I love reading them so much…I recently read one that said it was “great for the soul “ and I couldn’t get a higher compliment than that so thank you.
I was visiting my older sister Heather as I try to do once a week since her husband died. But we were talking this last week and she asked me “do you think most people are having a hard go of it right now?” She was speaking to the economy and how expensive things have gotten and I said “I think that a lot of people are, yes” the world is still calibrating since the Governments shut things down so hard during Covid. We are all having to sort of calibrate to a new place. Some are still living in this intentionally created fear of germs and other people. Some are still trying to reset their drinking and eating habits they picked up during Covid. Some are trying to get themselves back in the mode of working again or working in an office again or going to the gym again.
Yes I think the world changed. But I told her there is something that hasn’t changed and will never change. It’s that the people who manage their mindset around whatever is going on will always be ok. the people who think for themselves and manage to break out of the fear, and find a way to get back on track fairly quickly when possible, there will always be those people and those people will always be ok. You see fear is a powerful tool that some will use to gain and hold onto power. But those that think for themselves and step away from the narrative and the group think, those are the ones that make decisions based on their own inner guidance system.
How do you be one of those people? You can’t allow yourself to be carried away by group think and that means you can’t allow yourself to only be open to one side of the narrative, you have to listen to all sides and decide what is right for you. No-one else can do that for you. No-one You manage your thoughts every single day through a routine of meditation, prayer, deep personal thought, exercise, nutrition and you have your intuition to guide you. That’s how you be one of those people.
Every single day that I allow myself to start my day getting swallowed by the news or being hypnotized by social media first thing…instead of my meditation, journal practice…those are the days where I notice I’m less intentional. I’m grumpy. I beat myself up which always makes for a good day, right? Im getting better and better at not allowing it because the difference in my mood is so stark that I wonder if I’m doing it just to see the contrast because I’m certainly not enjoying the way I feel on those days. And when they cumulate I notice it’s even hard to get in the zone of inspiration for my podcast episodes.
Our body responds to our mind and our mind responds to our body. When one is working well the other has a good chance of working well too. It’s Not absolute but the odds are for it.
What if your body is your mind on display? If you are depressed, you are often hunched over, head down, eyes down, face will have dark rings, you make yourself smaller. When you are joyful, your eyes are wide, your shoulders are back, head is up and your face is bright. When you’re confident your shoulders are back, hands may be on your hips in a superman pose….All of these emotions show on our body…what does that tell you? What happens in your body when it only knows chaos?
We are built to be resilient but it’s not gonna happen on it’s own. We can handle a lot more then we think we can, you know this because look what you’ve already handled and here you are still standing. Don’t make it
There’s a lot going on in the world that we see and there’s a lot going on in the world that we are never going to see. Some of that is good and some of that is bad. Are you noticing the good? Or are you only focused on the bad? One of the keys to a happy life is focusing more ON and looking more FOR the good. But that takes effort. It takes being intentional in what we allow in. And in the beginning it’s not as rewarding because our brain likes the hit of dopamine we get from drama but as we focus on the good more and more we realize that that’s where true peace and contentment come in. From a place of peace and contentment the bad doesn’t seem so bad and the good is expected and shows up easily. But We are somewhat hardwired to be aware and notice the bad, That’s what comes easy, that’s what human nature left on autopilot will do. I know this because I fight it all the time.
I was having lunch with some of my family and they were talking about mass shootings and crime and how bad the world is and they said you know watching the news makes you not want to leave your house. I said I know! That’s why I don’t watch the news. But just like watching a train wreck in slow motion or driving by a car accident, it’s just our human nature to want to look at it. We are curious and nosy and love drama by nature but that’s where we have to step in and be the adult.
A lot of times religion will encourage you to notice the bad going on because it fits the narrative that the world is spiraling into evil and only certain people are going to be saved so you better keep tithing so you’re one of them. Or you better follow our rules so we are one of them…Goes back to that living in fear thing. It’s pretty effective. The more fearful they can keep you, the more in line you will be with the group. Everyone has an agenda. You have to make sure you know what influence you are under.
You see why it’s important to think for yourself?
It’s not normal yet for me to not want to get into the drama of politics or research what happened in the latest crisis of the day or hear the juicy gossip and not spread it. It still takes me being intentional and it takes effort for me to do that. But it’s getting easier and easier the more I practice it. Im getting better at it and as a human being that’s the best we can do, just get better each day we are given.
My challenge to you today is to inventory the content you’re taking in. Does it all lead to one narrative? Does it all lean left or right? Does it all focus on the drama and the juicy gossip or crisis of the day? It’s ok if it does, just be aware that you may be allowing yourself to be in the trance of a narrative driven by someone else and a lot of times that includes group think and fear. You’re a free thinker, you’re still listening so I know that. BE a free thinker. Be someone who is open to all and tied to none.
Share this with 3 free thinkers, I love you guys…I’ll talk to you in a few days!
