Respond Instead of React for a Major Shift in Perspective

Overthinkers: turn what annoys you into a gift

When the sun is in your eyes what do you do?

•Hold up your hand to block it
•Turn your back on it
•Put on sunglasses
•Squint

All of these things are an attempt to 'fix' the situation.

Instead of feeling the experience down to its bottom.

But, as soon as you make a decision to adapt, to feel your experience down to it's root, the discomfort you initially feel dissolves.

Your body gets the message that it's time to micro-bend and micro-twist to make this situation not only bearable but enjoyable.

You're able to enjoy what your mind decides is okay.

The next time the sun is in your eyes, (i.e., an aggravating sound, a skin irritation, a difficult person) say to yourself 'I drop the need to fix this and settle in to experiencing it down to its bottom.'

Part of you may scream no, because choosing experience over seeming function is hard for the mind.

But you aren't your mind. You're more than your mind. You've been given a mind to use, and you're allowed to override it when helpful to do so.

I overrode my first instinct to squint this morning as I sat down to write. The sun was low in the sky, shining intensely through the south facing windows. It felt blinding.

My first thought was to close the blinds.

But, I decided not to.

My interest in feeling things down to their bottom said, 'No, stay here, feel the sun in your eyes, soften. In fact, write about the sun.'

Acknowledging experience without trying to change it deepens character.

It challenges you to not just react to life but to take your time and respond to it. And it teaches you practical approaches for how to solve big and little conflicts.

The sun feels warm. Deep. Present.

And now adjusted to, quite pleasing.

The opposite of everything my mind first thought it'd be.

What's bothersome in one instant can be a joy in the next.

All because you sink in to what's here. Instead of scrambling to react.

Soften your eyes. Feel the warm sun, however startling. And instead of tuning out, tune in.

Your next big breakthrough is right here, feeling this bottom.

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Learn practical ways to talk yourself off the feelings ledge so you can respond instead of react in any situation. All in the next Overthinkers club meeting, next Wednesday, December 20th. Subscribe to email list to get the Zoom link. See you there.