Change your thinking

It will pass. :-)

If you can't change your situation, change your thinking. Yep, you heard that right. You can change your thinking. It's about shifting your focus. If you feel like your mind starts to wander to negative thinking, that's when you put your focus on your breathing. Keep breathing normally. Just try to notice the air passing through your nose. Then look around you. Try to notice your surroundings. Try to notice the light and the colours and the sounds. Whatever you do: don't judge what you feel or think at that moment! If you have strong feeling or nasty thought, don't force yourself to block it out or anything. Just let it pass through your mind. Don't feed it attention. Thoughts will dissipate eventually if you don't mind it.

Now start doing this a few minutes each day. It's hard at first, and you'll fail. But it get easier with each day if you keep practicing.

Congratulations, you just learned to meditate. :-D That's the first step.

The next step is to pick something. Anything. Doesn't have to cost you very much. Could be reading, learning to play music, working out, running,... and apply your meditative skills while you're doing it. :-) The trick is to use your new found self-awareness to make conscious choices. Avoid indulging in negative thinking. Stay in the here and now. Enjoy the present.

Don't rush it. Give yourself time. That fire will start burning again.


/u/captlights