I recently read an interview with NYC psychiatrist Dr. Lynne Tan. The gist of the interview was reducing the levels of stress in your life and she listed 10 different suggestions to do so. Most of the suggestions were pretty familiar to those of us who study Mental Fitness (Pamper yourself, Take a relaxing bubble bath, go to the gym, meditate, laugh, bake, take a walk…) – but one really caught my attention. It’s one of those things in life that’s almost too obvious.
If you’re honed in on something in particular that’s stressing you out – Change your focus for a while.
We’re all pretty guilty of zeroing in on certain areas. Whether it’s the girl our son’s seeing (you know, the one that’s no where near good enough for him), the fact that our house is smaller than such and such’s, and so on. We get the thought(s) stuck in our mind and seem incapable of changing the channel. But the longer we remain on that depressing, discouraging channel – the more harm it’ll do to us.
The solution? FORCE yourself off of the Negative Channel and find a more Positive Channel to focus on. The new focus can be anything from starting to read a new book to starting to write a new book! It won’t be long before you realize that what you once thought was an earth-shattering problem doesn’t even register a blip on the radar.
If you want to see real growth, make certain that your new focus is challenging and mentally stimulating. The negative, stressful, worry-wart thoughts that easily become obsessions? They never lead anywhere worth going.
Change your focus – change your life.
Make each moment count double,
~Joi
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