A Shift in Perspective

Maybe you feel overwhelmed, stressed, and like your very soul is fighting its own existence. It’s a tough spot to be in and it feels like being caught in a mental web of overwhelm.

I found myself feeling this way and was in a constant thought process of, “this is wrong, this isn’t right, why am I doing this, how did I get here, when will it all end????” This isn’t just a COVID-19 response, but something that happens all the time anyway. For example, I really feel this inner turmoil when running late for work, fighting my toddler each night at bedtime, dealing with a difficult client, and and and . . . The list of known contentions are endless, really.

But then, in the midst of it all, a breath of fresh air:

Accept – then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it and not against it.

~Eckhart Tolle

When I read that quote, the shackles around my mind dissipated. Looking around, I saw what was actually, physically in front of me. I was reminded to take stock of the facts, not the anxieties. There I was, in a place that I had, in fact, chosen. Most of the time we are where we want to be. How, then, can stress and overwhelm creep in so easily and threaten our peace of mind? (The “Sunday scaries” is a perfect example of this: you’re at home enjoying your day off and then fear about the week ahead cripples your peace of mind. But the reality is still that you are safe at home.) When we face reality head-on, it’s useful to take Tolle’s approach and act as though we chose it. Especially when we lack control over a situation, it always works better if we simply go with the flow.

So, the thing that was stressing me out in the moment that Tolle’s quote saved me from myself was my work. Guess who shared the quote? Ironically, it was my supervisor. Life is funny that way, and it’s good to remember that a lot of our stress is made up in our heads. My supervisor doesn’t ask me to let overwhelm creep in and run my day for me. My supervisor doesn’t benefit from me being stressed out because then I cannot perform my job – or my life – well. I’m finding over and over again that in order to be well I must accept all changes as if I had asked for them. Hey, if our minds can play negative tricks on us to freak us out, then why not also practice playing positive tricks to feel calm? I will happily jump-start my mind to get it back into a healthy space. When I shifted my perspective and accepted my day just as it was, instead of how I thought it should be, my mood improved immensely.

And, finally:

Be careful how you are talking to yourself, because you are listening.  ~Lisa Hayes

Hoping this message finds you well, friends!