Woopi News - Stress and You

We often think that our life circumstances cause us misery, stress and unhappiness.

When actually, a large part of your suffering is due to your mental commentary about your life circumstances. Often, it is not what has happened but the meaning and thoughts you place on the situation.

Your mind, that is your thoughts, is telling you something that creates the unhappiness.

You can even test it out in a simple situation, like waiting in line somewhere. Maybe think back to the last time you were in line waiting for something. How was it?

You’re waiting. It’s taking a long time.

It’s taking too long.

You get impatient and irritated.

You get fidgety, annoyed and some people even get very angry.

Then, experiment with how you would experience the situation without adding any thought to it.

If you just stood silently in the line, waiting, and didn’t add any thoughts to this moment at all? You would just be waiting in the line and be totally calm.

So, it wasn’t waiting in the line that irritated you. It was the thoughts that you were thinking about the situation that created the irritation.

Your mind and thoughts have made up a story that, in turn, has shifted your energy and mood into discomfort.

Your emotions are triggered. Then your behaviour might be affected. You might huff and puff, stomp around or have an outburst at someone.

Your thoughts, 90% of them unconscious, have triggered an emotional and physical reaction that is interfering with you right now.

Your thoughts have got you going. Now, you have an emotion, attitude and behaviour that you need to calm down and regulate to get yourself calm, behaviour managed, and your brain back online.

And then the thoughts and story start up again. I wouldn’t be so angry if the person behind the counter would just move faster. Blaming your emotions on someone else.

Practise noticing your unconscious thoughts. Are they kind and positive?

Take charge of your thoughts, take charge of emotions, behaviours and life.

Kim Townsend

Life Coach & Mentor, Creative Healer, ICF Certification Mentor, Adventurer