Another Monday....Another journey into Mindfulness

by:ME

I was thinking on what I should cover today. There are so many things that one can do to be mindful, but you have to be mindful of what you do. While I usually do a post or 2 over my weekend, I also read more. Kind of catch up on my followers, on people I follow to stay active and in touch. One of the blogs I read is by someone I follow and is a bit of a mentor for me @tifaong. She posted a beautifully written synopsis of book she had read. In her posting the first half covers the book but at the bottom it discusses emotion. There were a couple of key points that stuck out in my mind (I included the link so you could read the whole post)

Most of the time, life pushes you around. Each push in life says "Wake up, there's something for you to learn." It is your choice whether you learn it or not. Generally, humans will react in 3 different ways,

1. Give up and let life push you around
2. Get angry and push back, to their bosses and surrounding people/things
3. Learn and move on

I deserve a pay raise.
I need to get a job.
I need to work.
Money is the root of all evil.
These are statements and way of thoughts that are driven by emotions called fear. And how to think with emotions?
What am I missing here?
What do I need to learn so that I can make money work for me?
How to make more money instead of working a 9-5 job?
Why is this not working for me?
Why is this happening?
You realized you fear the lack of money and you desire things when you get the paycheck, and this keeps repeating. You realized this isn't right and you start finding your way out of the trap.

https://steemit.com/money/@tifaong/-lesson-1-the-poor-and-middle-class-work-for-money-the-rich-have-money-work-for-them-1523779765

Granted this piece is mostly about viewing different ways a person was taught how to view a relationship with money and working. Yet, if you truly think about what she states in these to quotes. It is about emotion.

USE YOUR EMOTIONS TO THINK, NOT TO THINK WITH EMOTIONS

That sentence is the key. It's key to so many things. She mentions that FEAR is what drives us into work to get a paycheck to pay the bills, to go back to work and so forth. It is the FEAR that keeps us trapped. FEAR of not being able to take care of your family. The FEAR of succeeding. The FEAR of disappointment. The FEAR of rejection. The FEAR of being judged. I could go on and on. FEAR can be good, too much FEAR is disastrous.

One of the key factors in anxiety is FEAR in it's varied aspects. We are at a point we have put ourselves in what my mom calls the 'What ifs.' ' What if I don't pass my test?' 'What if I don't get picked?' 'What if I can't pay my bills?' 'What if everybody laughs at me?' She would respond with 'What if you had a million dollars?' 'What if you do get picked?' 'What if they do laugh at you?' 'What if you can't pay your bills?' 'How is asking that question going to get your anywhere?'

Of course, at the time I didn't understand or I didn't want to understand. I was more frustrated that to me she skated around the answers. Then she told me, 'I did answer your questions. What if I told you there was not answer to what if? All 'what if' is, is the fear you have controlling you.'

So after reading #tifaong's post this was my response:

Such an amazing post @tifaong. Fear is the fire that starts it all. Depending on how you deal with it depends on whether it goes up in a blaze of glory or keeps you comfortable. We do need to start looking at the picture differently. The world is changing and we need to change with it.

So, by now I'm sure you're thinking 'What does this have to do with being mindful?' Everything actually. So to be mindful, you have to...see where the emotion has affected you. Acknowledge that it has affected you. Bring yourself back to the NOW, then move forward. In this case your moving forward is to gain control of the emotion so it doesn't throw you for a loop everytime something goes wrong. That is why it is one of the driving forces of anxiety.
FEAR is instinctual, it's controlling even debilitating. It is a very hard emotion to tackle. Some fear is good, it gives us drive, it gives us purpose. It's when it controls you and consumes you, that you need to work on getting that control back.

So learning about fear and how it works will give you a better understanding. If your fear is due to anything trauma related, then your best bet is to make sure you have good professional help. A good therapist will be able to guide you through those issues with various methods. If it comes down to being successful with Steemit? Then you need to see what you're afraid of. That is where you need to change your thoughts, the I can't to the I will. The what if to when.

Basically, stop being so hard on you and being you. Be yourself (your true self) Live for you! Live for now...not 10 years ago, not 10 years from now...but NOW.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and hopefully comment. If there is something you want to cover or discuss please feel free to say so. I am by no means a professional, these are practices I have learned over time and wish someone would have taught me A LOT sooner.

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