How is your life going? How is your writing going? How do you motivate yourself this week?

A Sort of Experiment

For a few months, I am doing a sort of experiment at work. A “thought” or “thinking” experiment: I used to get really stressed out at work because there are so many times when you have to do 10 things at once and multitasking doesn’t really describe what we are doing.

I put an awful lot of pressure on myself because I felt I wasn’t good enough because I could not manage what was needed. This feeling of inadequacy made me explode more than once and my poor co-workers had to suffer.

Calming Down at Work

In one of those especially hard weeks where my depression hit very hard, I suddenly had enough. It was one of those points in my life where I just let all my worries go and thought: “It’s just a job. You do what you can and everything else will sort itself out!”

I just concentrated on the next task at hand. When I had to focus on something else I kept the other task in mind and then came back to it and just finished one thing at a time. And oh wonder: I got everything done in time and I wasn’t as exhausted as before.

So what have I changed?

The only thing I have changed is my attitude towards my work. You know what they say: If you can’t

change the situation change your attitude! And also: You can’t control everything in your life but you can control how you react to it.

That is exactly what I have done in that particular situation. Ever since I try to re-create this way of thinking but alas I am a mere human and it doesn’t always work.

Amazed at how my mind has an impact on my behaviour (and success)

Whenever it works, I know that I trusted in the fact that everything will work out no matter what. Whenever it doesn’t work, I started worrying and hurrying and a feeling of inadequacy comes into play.

In the end, though it is always a “trick” of my mind. No matter which way I turn ~ trusting in the success or “knowing” it won’t work ~ it’s my mind that controls which way I go. And that made me think a lot.

Power of my Mind

It made me realise that it is particularly important to keep an eye on my way of thinking. To stay mindful of which thought processes happen in any situation.

This, of course, is a technique you learn in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: A so-called “Thought Protocol” makes you examine a situation that was difficult for you. You write down your thoughts as well as your feelings in that situation. Then you examine if the thoughts, in that case, bear any truth in them. You find reasons for and against the thoughts (or judgements) you had in this situation. And then you challenge the negative thoughts with a positive opposite. Well, that is the short and very inaccurate version.

Still, I am trying this out for many months and also apply it to more and more other situations in my life and I can only say that the attitude I have towards anything in my life makes the whole difference.

Mindfulness

I also believe that mindfulness (being fully attentive in the moment and accepting what I experience) has helped me to realise how I react to certain situations. And also helped me to find a different approach towards them.

After all: If Columbus had doubted that the world is round he would never have set sail to learn what is out there. You have to believe in your success to make it somehow!

In this sense: Have a beautifully mindful week and lots of good energy for your writing!