It got on top of me this week!
We’re having some health issues in the family, and it’s been very stressful.
And I found myself – me, the Queen of Positive Thinking – sinking into a slough of despond 😩
Then, driving with my daughter, she spotted some graffiti:
this storm shall pass.
It reminded me of what I’d say to myself during lockdown (before these last few weeks, probably the most intensely stressful period of my life: juggling homeschooling, working, and running a house while the world was ending): “this too shall pass”.
And that reminder shifted my mindset ✨
I’ve been through some tough times, and not only survived them, but learned incredible lessons from them that have changed my life 💪
I’ve also got a powerful toolkit which I use with my clients to help them transform their unhelpful, negative thinking to an empowering, constructive mindset 🔥
But despite all of my experiences, training and tools, I know for the last week I’ve been in an unhelpful cycle of catastrophic thinking 😞
So I’m sharing this to remind you: we all get stuck sometimes! 🧡
(Especially when you struggle with that Imposter voice, which can make you feel imprisoned in a place of negativity 😢)
And when things get tough, there is one absolutely crucial principle to fall back on – what Eckhart Tolle calls “The Power of Now” 💫
He says:
All negativity is caused by an accumulation of psychological time and denial of the present.
Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry – all forms of fear – are caused by too much future, and not enough presence.
Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of nonforgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.”
All we ever have in life is THIS moment.
The one we’re in right now 😊
The stuff that’s gone before doesn’t exist any more. The things to come may never exist…
I know many people who are going through struggles of various sizes at the moment – and if that’s you, please know that I am thinking of you & sending much love 🤗
But whatever you’re struggling with, FEARING the future does not help.
And that’s the mistake I’ve been making.
I am very skilled at planning for success – looking ahead with clear eyes to make sure as much as possible has been done to achieve a positive future outcome.
But I’ve allowed this to drift into not just planning for what might happen next, but fearing it 🥺
And these fears might never happen!
And even if they do, you still have the good moments in the present 💫
Speaking to a friend this week, she told me about a woman she met in Great Ormond Street Hospital with a very sick child.
When she asked this woman how she coped, she said that during the good times she never allowed herself to think about the bad ones either that had gone, or that might come.
Because if she did, the good moments were tainted.
So, I know it’s hard (and I know this week I haven’t been managing very well…), but when you’re going through struggles:
🧡 choose not to FEAR – avoid that catastrophic thinking, it doesn’t help!
🧡 and, as Tolle says, choose to realise deeply that the present moment is all you have.
And as I write this on Thursday, getting my toes painted fluorescent orange while visiting my parents in London for some R&R, the present moment – whatever is to come – is pretty good 🥰
Wishing you a positive, productive, and NOW-filled week! 😊🔥💪
with much love 😊🧡
Kirsten xx
