C is for….

…Catch (and Release)

All day, every day, thoughts run through your head.  Good thoughts. Bad thoughts.  Ugly thoughts.  Being mindful means being able to ‘catch’ these thoughts – to be aware of them and the impact they are having on your body, your mind and your soul.  Try to examine each thought and assess how it is affecting how you feel about yourself and others.

Hold onto the positive thoughts – the ideas that feed you and build you up and help you to reach your full, magnificent potential.

And release the ones that don’t.   Let the unhelpful thoughts go.

 

…Creative Adjustments

Creative Adjustments are a lovely concept from Gestalt Therapy.  They are exactly what they sound like; a creative way of adjusting to circumstances.  Over the years of your life, you (and me, and everyone else) have developed ways of being that keep you safe.  Unconsciously, you developed habits, thoughts, beliefs and behaviours that were a creative solution to a problem you once faced. 

But, as with most things in life, solutions create more problems and fashions change.  What used to suit you a few years ago, may not be such a great fit anymore.  Your habits of not asking for help, or being a perfectionist who never leaves work before 9pm, or putting everyone else’s needs before your own may not be serving as you well as they used to.

It may be time to Consciously go about coming up with some new Creative Adjustments – to allow yourself to Choose (see below) thoughts (see above), and behaviours that serve, and suit, you better.

 

…Choice

It may not always feel like it, but we have choice in pretty much everything we do, say, think and feel.  We can  – and do – make millions of choices every day.  When to wake up, what to wear, where to drink our morning tea, whether we have tea or coffee, who we speak to, how we speak to them…..

Most of the time we are not aware of all the choices we are making.  Which is why we are often not prepared for the Consequences of the choices we make.  We just bumble through life, responding and reacting to what looks like fate or life or luck or Providence.

But when we use our choice – when we mindfully, consciously, creatively weigh up our options, think through the possible consequences and pick a course of action – then we can proactively create the kind of life we want for ourselves.

Maybe not immediately.  Not necessarily easily.

But little by little, choice by choice, you can create a new reality for yourself.

(Let me know if you’d like some help!)

 

Tags: asking for help | catch and release | coaching | consciousness | consequences | create the life you want to live | creative adjustments | gestalt therapy | mindfulness | putting other first