Have you ever stopped to listen to the narrator self, the one that lives inside your head? All the while we are awake and doing our lives, there is a voice feeding us thoughts, interpreting what is going on. It is so insidious, we may not even notice. Even though, it still affects us.
Thinking is unique to humans, but humans are animals, right? We are made up of chemicals, minerals and processes. Some bodily functions are automatic like the heartbeat, breath and digestion.
Others are intentional, based on choice. For example, when I choose to clean the kitchen, I may then choose to take actions in alignment with that thought.
If I begin vacuuming the floor and find the vacuum does not work, I may begin trouble-shooting. There are a list of questions to run through. Is the battery charged? Is the filter clean?
After going through the checklist, I might conclude that I cannot fix it myself and decide to call the company so I look online for the phone number and hours. If I find the company is closed at that time, I will have to wait to repair or replace my vacuum.
At this point, if not beforehand, the narrator self may start feeding me a message like “something is wrong”. It will also supply reasons why something is wrong, like the battery is not old, the vacuum has always worked well in the past and this is the king of all reasons, “I should be able to do what I want to do!”
Do you know what happens when my animal self receives this message? It goes into a state of red alert. Stress hormones are secreted and the body prepares to run away, fight or freeze. None of these states help me to get a functional vacuum, but my body was wired to react in this way a long time ago when a threat like a wild animal might be well-served by physical reactions like these.
In modern times, we have few actual threats to our selves that call for intense physical reactions, but many that benefit from a well-thought out response. Yet, when our thinking is on automatic pilot, feeding us lies and filling us with stress hormones, our problem-solving capacities are derailed.
By the way, thinking I should do what I want to do when I want to do it, not only hinders higher level thinking, it can induce a tantrum. This is the way a toddler thinks and sometimes behaves. And it is exhausting! Don’t ask me how I know.
Now imagine that the vacuum does not work (same problem), but the narrator feeds my thinking a different message, like, “it is normal for things to break”, “I don’t need to clean the kitchen today”, “I can call the company during work hours and see what my options are”. Then I might choose to use other tools to clean or do something all together different.
If I am having trouble shifting my thinking, I can question the idea that something is wrong by looking and seeing that I have everything that I value: a loving husband, children, grandchildren, a comfortable, beautiful home, satisfying work and more. In a nutshell, there is nothing wrong!
When the narrator self feeds me the thought that something is wrong, I can replace it with the truth and avoid the whole animal reaction. Then I can get on with my day.
Pay attention to your thoughts. Whether you are aware of them or not, they impact you. Instead of spending time and energy looking for ways to recover from stress created by untruths auto-delivered, take time to stop, listen and choose your thoughts.
What untrue thoughts can you quiet and replace with ones that support you in getting where you want to to go?
Save the thought “something is wrong” for when it’s true, which is basically life-threatening situations not an inconvenient change in plans.
Listen to the narrator self, tell yourself the truth, and see what happens.