These days I’m starting to realize how much my thoughts get in the way of what I want to do.
It’s something I already “knew,” but now I’m becoming more and more aware of it.
I can see how, for example, I want to write, but then thoughts come in the form of:
“I should make this call first!”
Or…
“I have to follow up with my insurance company about the email I sent them a couple of days ago!”
And of course, there are some in the form of:
“What am I going to write about?”
Or…
“I think that today I may skip it, as nothing very good is going to come out.”
And, those thoughts may be right. But, here I am, writing.
What saved me?
My commitment to write at least 2 posts per week for 6 months. And knowing in advance that I will be able to give myself all kinds of excuses for not doing it when the time comes:
“I have other things to do that are more urgent. I’ll write later when I’m done with them.”
“It’s not worth spending my time writing because no one is going to read it.”
“I’m not a good writer. I should do something else better.”
Again, those thoughts may be true… but, maybe they are not. I always have them, and they often prevent me from doing new things. They are habits of thought. Thoughts that always come into our head when certain situations arise. In this case, when I am going to do something new that will expose me to a potential audience. We all have habits of thought for different situations. So in other situations, I may have thoughts that encourage me to act. But, it’s not the case with my writing.
So, if I want to change my life, acting despite my thoughts is a must. Because my thoughts are going to lead me in the same direction they have always led me. They are going to show up in my actions in much the same way that the same movements will show up in my body when I play tennis, or shoot a basketball. In the same way that my muscles have a memory to execute certain movements in a certain way, my thoughts will show up in a certain way that will lead to a familiar behavior.
In the past, I thought it was a matter of changing your thoughts. Now, I know it’s more effective to just ignore them. Changing them is too difficult (maybe even impossible?). It’s difficult, at least for me, to think that I’m a good writer when I have all those thoughts in the back of my head, saying the opposite. It feels like a battle in my head, confusing, that drains my energy and doesn’t convince me of anything much.
So, in summary, this is what I’m playing with:
- Committing to something I want to do.
- Doing it despite the thoughts that are going to show up.
So far, it’s feeling great. Of course, I’m scared of the “terrible” consequences that may happen if I don’t follow what my thoughts say (they are good at doing their job!). But, it’s a big release for me, knowing that I can do things in spite of them. And it’s very exciting to see the infinite possibilities that open up when you act beyond your thoughts.
Wanna play too?