This morning I had a session with my coach, Maureen. We meet a couple of times a month and she helps keep me on track with my dreams and goals. This morning I was in an ‘it’s too hard’ mental state and my body was in agreement with my head. My body ached from a workout earlier this week, the vision in my left eye was peculiarly blurry and I felt ‘heavy’ and lethargic. Mentally, all I could entertain were the roadblocks I was feeling in different areas of my life – the fitness goals I’d set and abandoned, the marketing plan I was procrastinating starting, the copywriting I’d started, gotten stuck on and left unfinished. The list went on, and on. So, my coach and I discussed the precept (an authoritative idea that’s taken hold as a rule – though it may or may not be true) of ‘It’s too hard’.
This ‘it’s too hard’ thinking had a hold on my ability to create things that I wanted, to achieve goals I’d set. I looked at the actual words I was using. The word ‘too’ was the one that had a stranglehold on me.
If the thought was ‘it’s hard’ perhaps that would spark a sense of adventure and challenge for me. Perhaps I’d think: Oh, ok. It’s hard. Who can help me make it easy? What do I need to learn/do to get beyond it being hard? BUT, when what I was saying to myself was ‘it’s TOO hard’ then I felt paralysed, stuck, motionless – mentally, spiritually, emotionally – and physically. Maureen asked me: What had the idea of ‘It’s too hard’ stopped me doing? My answers included going for some big goals, reaching towards things I wanted, creating new things… She then asked: What had the idea ‘it’s too hard’ caused me to do? The answers were disappointing but true:
- I felt stressed and emotional when I came up against ‘it’s too hard’
- I had negative self talk and felt fuzzy and clouded
- I used the feeling of ‘it’s too hard’ as an excuse to not take action
Hmm… where was all this leading? Suddenly (and with some masterful coaching), a lightbulb went off in my head, something shifted in my energy and thinking. When I saw that I was tying up a whole lot of useful energy and life force in keeping myself stuck, things changed. Now I could see the possibilities that eliminating this thought from my day to day existence could allow. Done? I’m not sure – we’ll have to see when the ‘it’s too hard’ thought comes up again how I manage it. But, I feel lighter and more in control and less heavy. So, I wonder what other thoughts are rattling around in my head that are lies? Something to think about.
