If you've been reading this blog for a while, you already know that I am a regular listener to personal development coach Rob Dial's podcast, which can be found on number of sites, including YouTube...it's called Mindset Mentor. Usually if I write about a specific podcast, I'll have waited a few days beforehand. But today he presented four mindsets people have which make themselves miserable in life. The first is trying to control that which I cannot control, be it situations on the other side of the world or the people around me. To a certain extent I can do my part to make things better by expressing opinions or voting on election day. And speaking truth in a compassionate way to others is also something I could do more. But sitting there letting the negativity stew around in my mind helps no one, especially myself. The second of Dial's points is comparing myself to others, bemoaning the supposed advantages others enjoy that enable them to have or experience a more interesting and bountiful life. To that he recommends intentionally setting aside time to focus on things that I can be grateful for in my life...and there is definitely a lot to consider here. That doesn't imply that I shouldn't strive to improve myself and my circumstances, but once again I shouldn't just sit there fuming inside about how unfair life is. Number Three on Rob Dial's list of things making folks miserable is focusing on the past. We all live in the present and the past is gone...in spite of all the science fiction stories I've read or watched using the literary gimmick of time travel. Moping around about past regrets can mess up my present, yet I don't think I should ignore the past either...it's how I learn to better live in the present! Finally, our host presents the fourth pathway to misery: worrying about the future. To be sure, that's where we're all heading...but most of the disasters predicted ahead don't materialize. I am rooted to the present, and only in the now can I act to do my part to bring about a better world. But once again, I present a caveat: of course, I need to notice danger and problems on the horizon and, if possible, try to effectively deal with them. But static worry accomplishes nothing to alleviate anything. If you think I'm getting a little preachy here, rest assured: I wrote this down primarily as a way to reinforce to myself the show's message...which today seemed quite profound...
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The Serenity Prayer sums it up perfectly for me. As long as I try and manage those three things, I think I can maintain a peaceful existence for myself. It's something, though, that I have to work on daily as sometimes I find my serenity teetering on a ledge, especially after reading the daily news.
ReplyDeleteI just wrote a comment here relating the podcast you wrote about to the Serenity Prayer. I haven't yet figured out exactly how this new (to me) site works and it would appear that my comment has disappeared somewhere into cyberspace and I don't know why. I guess, though, that this falls into the category of something I can change so I will work on figuring out the correct protocol for posting comments here (and hope that my serenity holds up as I try to figure out this Google account stuff).
ReplyDeleteGoogle has a feature for this blog that I think is an improvement over Facebook in that the blogger has the option to review comments before posting them, enabling me to avoid trollers...which I've had to contend with on FB in the past. So, you're doing it all right and I greatly appreciate your input! Yes, the Serenity Prayer rocks! And who says we have to keep up with the news?
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