Tend the garden of your mind
Any one of us can fall into a trap of running negative stories in our minds. Once we hook into those patterns of thought, they begin to run on a loop and it becomes too difficult to get out. Jill Bolte Taylor writes: “The more aware I remain about what my brain is saying and how those thoughts feel inside my body, the more I own my power in choosing what I want to spend my time thinking about and how I want to feel. If I want to retain my inner peace, I must be willing to consistently and persistently tend the garden of my mind moment by moment, and be willing to make the decision a thousand times a day.”
To break out of the pattern of negative self-talk, she recommends switching your thinking to one of three things:
- Remember something that you find fascinating and ponder it more deeply.
- Think about something that gives you great joy.
- Think about something that you would like to do.
This week let’s use those strategies to break the patterns of our negative thinking.
HOW-TO
Next time when you notice yourself getting stuck in a mental loop of negative self-talk, instead of getting caught up in it, try to think of something that you find interesting, or something that gives you joy, or simply direct your attention toward something you want to do. Experiment with those options and see which one seems the most effective to you. And let us know which one you prefer!
I have been stuck in a negative loop all weekend! The times when I most effectively broke it was by doing something – tending my garden, sport, birdwatching, talking with friends, writing etc. These things took me ‘outside of my head’ and gave me some quiet time.
So thank you for this challenge it will be interesting to see if I can nurture my thoughts to a more positive place rather than seeking outside distraction (as much as I enjoy doing that too!).
Hi Wendy! I believe that any sort of repetitive activity can become a sort of meditation, too, as it tends to both focus the mind and clear it from other distractions. It’s always great to have a variety of tools available since the mind will always try to find a way to slide back into that complaining mode 🙂
With a husband who is ill, I wake up in the night. Things seem much worse in the middle of the night, so I worry about whatever. Tried your challenge last night, and it was effective. Then, for some reason, as I started to fall asleep again, I spent the time on the edge of sleep cruising around the parking garage at the hospital. That was just funny, so how can you worry when you’re laughing?
I agree Sandy, everything seems way darker at night. Great to hear that this exercise was effective! And what an interesting half-dream 🙂