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Lisa Bent | Inside Out | Keep the sunshine in your mind
When it’s cold we moan, when it’s raining we moan, when it’s snowing, we moan. We wish for warmer weather yet when it arrives..so many of us moan that it’s too hot!
BUT, I am convinced that if weather reporters removed words like gloomy, miserable and muggy from their reporting, our outlook would be positively different
How something is presented makes a difference because it has the power to change moods.
Some examples of instant mood-changers;
- The media
- Bus and train delays
- Drivers overtaking or not signalling
- Additional workload
- Workmen not turning up on time
I could go on, but then this article would just be a confirmation of all the things we moan about. I would much rather focus on the fact that we all have the power to make conscious decisions in each moment so that our own state of mind and wellbeing is protected.
If you keep sunshine in your mind, the external things and encounters that you see and experience will have less of an impact. Wouldn’t that be a great place to get to and be in?
If that sounds really ‘airy fairy’, let me explain what I mean.
Henry Ford once said:
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.”
So, staying with the weather metaphor: Is it gloomy because the sky is grey? Or is it grey because the sun is hiding behind the clouds?
How you perceive this, will impact your experience. The mind is so powerful that if we don’t attempt to understand our self-talk, we run the risk of all present and future situations being controlled by our past memory banks, associations, fear, anxiety and what other people say and do.
Who we are is central to everything and as a result, we can choose at any time how we perceive something and the actions we want to take.
As a result, keeping sunshine in your mind is very powerful. It is the shield against judgement and pressure. It is the acknowledgement that no current situation is permanent. It is the wholehearted acceptance that you are, where you are, and that is ok. It is the understanding that you have a choice in how you think about something and what you do with the information.
Change happens all the time, yet so many of us tend to label change as a positive or negative. Positive – an increase in pay, new car or relationship for example.
Negative – redundancies, leaving a job and being unhappy in a relationship.
Henry Ford also said:
Blessings
In order to grow something needs to give. Sometimes that will be set by you and other times it will be out of your control, as external factors decide.
Either way, getting comfortable with what you feel is uncomfortable, taking the next exit instead of continuing straight, is the only way to move out of the comfort zone and learn something new.
This is why they say there are blessings in lessons, which tend to be acknowledged after we have moved through it. But if we could keep the sunshine in our minds, whilst this is happening, imagine how much easier the transition would be?
Your current situation is not permanent. Do the best with what you have, for where you are at, and in your heart know that change is generally a blessing in disguise.
The trigger for this article came about through a conversation with a good friend of mine, where I shared how I was feeling regarding my decision to leave my job.
Although I have no regrets, I was explaining to him how the mind can go from ‘neutral to 60’ in no time at all and before you know it, you can see the clouds beginning to form.
He told me he kept positive by “keeping the sunshine in my mind, because no situation is permanent.” Isn’t that such a beautiful phrase?
I consider myself to be ‘an aware’ person, but that doesn’t mean doubt and self-talk don’t creep in now and again. We are human beings, so this is all normal. Where your mind goes, you go, so be sure to listen. Your heart speaks too, remember that.
Shut your eyes to see your vision and keep plugging away to create your best life. It starts from within. Your life. You are in control of it.
It’s good to talk, so if this article resonates with you regarding your own process to change, please pass it on as someone else may benefit from it too.
Keep the sunshine in your mind, as you walk on the path to your best self.
