The secret to feeling less stressed is a lot closer than we think… if we look in the right direction.
Imagine waking in a bad mood. You snap at the first person you see. Last night’s dishes still need doing. Unopened post reminds you of unpaid bills. You feel tense thinking about the commute. Not even 9am and stress levels are through the roof.
Now imagine waking in a good mood and see how it plays out differently. We see the other person and something funny comes to mind. The washing up reminds us what a great time we had with friends last night. We have post today! Heavy traffic means we can listen to more of that new audiobook in the car. It’s 9am and the day’s shaping up nicely.
How can the situation be the same and yet so different? And if it hasn’t changed, what has? Do we get to choose which one we experience? Well, yes and no. If we try to turn the first scenario into the second, by “thinking positive” we tend to make things worse. Instinctively, we know we can’t control our moods. They sort themselves out. Our thoughts move on and the next time we notice, we’re feeling fine again. This is because every organ system in our bodies is processing, correcting, healing—always restoring us to balance—without us having to consciously do anything. That includes our minds and our moods.
Did you spot the secret to feeling less stressed? If you missed it, I can’t blame you. In these words, as in life, it’s hidden in plain sight. It was “thoughts move on.” The only difference between the two scenarios is what we’re thinking at the time. For thought is how we experience the world – all of it.
With a quiet mind, it’s impossible to feel stressed, because the feelings of stress don’t come from other people, or washing up or bills or a commute, they come from stressed-out thinking about these things.
The more we see that our world is always being experienced inside of us, via thought, the quicker our psychology self-corrects, the quieter our minds become and the less stressed we feel. Positive thinking not required.
Dr Giles P Croft
gilespcroft.com
Healing • Coaching • Speaking
If you want to “de-stress your life” and experience a consistently quieter mind, Giles is running a 6 week course, starting on January 24th, in Abergavenny. See de-stress-your-life.eventbrite.com for details.
