It’s amazing how my mind can build up energy throughout my whole body with a split second thought. It was 8:30 in the morning and I was on my way to work when I realized that I forgot about a meeting that I had to attend at 8:00. My body flashed hot. My heart raced. I swore at myself, then at the universe. As I raced to my meeting I came up with excuses that I would tell them, hit my steering wheel, then tried to figure out a way to get our of showing up.

I turned a right to head towards the meeting and then I realized the meeting was next Thursday. My heart rate began to slow and I laughed at myself. My mind and body went numb from just a single thought.

Thoughts can feel as real as a handshake, a car accident, or anything else. It’s up to us to decipher their meaning. We can let thoughts be as real as a concrete wall or we can learn to accept them as a part of our lives. A thought is just a thought, not real and solid, but an energy that flows around our brains. Our mind constantly chatters because that’s what it was made to do. It’s up to us to decide on how to filter and accept which thoughts we need.

If I would have been more aware of my thoughts, I could have felt the sensation of being late to the meeting and not let it bother me. I’ve had thoughts come into my mind and I didn’t pay attention because they weren’t worthy of my consideration. This particular thought scared me because I was afraid of looking bad to my boss, co-workers, and clients. The thought did what it was supposed to do: get my heart pumping so I would have massive amounts energy to figure out a solution. If I would have been more aware, I could have felt the initial rush of the thought and realized that just because I think I’m late doesn’t make it true. Once I calmed down I was able to figure that out.

I can’t stop the thoughts from coming, but I can control my reaction to the thoughts. I should have let the thought of me being late come into my body without freaking out. I could have slowly double checked my different reference points, like remembering the email my boss wrote that the meeting was on the 18th, and it was only the 11th, or that I put a reminder on my computer to make sure that I wouldn’t forget.

Even if I was late there was nothing I could have done to turn back time, so there was still no need to freak out. Being truthful and honest is the best way to go. If my boss didn’t understand that this was my first time being late to a meeting in over two years then I’m working for the wrong person.

Realizing that thoughts don’t define you is an important step towards allowing problems to slide off your brain rather than forcing you into a panic. Thoughts are fluid and come and go faster than we can actually keep up. Be aware of how you respond to your thoughts, and eventually they won’t have such a dramatic effect on your life.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 26th, 2007 at 5:08 pm and is filed under Stress Management, confidence, enjoy everything.