Are You Allowing Negative Thinking to Put a Stone in Your Shoe?

Every day we get a comment, a look, an email, a something that niggles us. Like ice cream with sand in it our experience is spoiled, our balance disturbed and we trundle off into our head to mutter and moan.

But what if we could employ the power of perspective to ease our discomfort and shine light on the bigger things in our life?

A Pebble In Your Shoe

When we focus on little niggles they are like a pebble in our shoe. They get our full attention and they have the power to make us uncomfortable. That's because our thinking is shoe sized! We're homing in on a little area of our life. But what if we kept our thinking more expanded and focused on a bigger view? Then that pebble could be in our garden instead of our shoe. Do the pebbles in your garden bother you? Do you even notice them? Me neither.

What if you're thinking was so broad that the pebble of irritation lived somewhere in a wide open space. Perhaps a country park, or a mountain? Now it's nowhere near your consideration.

I've learned from two areas in my life that pebble focus and shoe sized thinking holds us back and makes us miserable. From my spiritual master I learned that when we keep our eyes on our heartfelt goals we can overcome any obstacle and pebbles aren't even a consideration. And from living with an illness that kept me at home for a long time I learned that you have to be careful and avoid getting caught up in the mindset of people around you without even realising it. You can start not only worrying over your own pebbles but sticking other people's trouble rocks in your shoe too and that really hurts.

Two Ways to Empty Your Shoe: Questions and Expanded Consciousness

1. Question Importance

One of the easiest and most effective ways to rid yourself of pebbles is to use your powers of intelligent discrimination. It's a bit like office organisation when a paper comes your way and you decide whether to deal with it, file it or throw it out. When it comes to emotionally involved pebbles I don't recommend filing them, but I do recommend you ask yourself "will this matter in a year's time?" If the answer is yes, it needs to be dealt with and if your answer is no then why hobble around with a stone in your shoe. Let it go and focus on the big and beautiful in your life.

2. Think Calm, Think Big

Allow yourself a few minutes everyday to daydream, breath deeply, or take a mental vacation. When I was very ill I went swimming every day - in my head! It was a wonderful experience. I designed myself a beautiful place to go and swim with turquoise water, underwater shells and gems, and sitting places. And I would take myself there and float and relax and feel not at all like I was stuck in bed.

Where your mind goes your whole system follows. Where are you taking yours today?

Photo by jonboy mitchell