With the best will in the world we all believe that we are generally strong minded.
Yeah, sure there are times of stress and challenge when we’re not so mentally tough, but overall we would say that we’ve got reasonable thinking. But, everybody has regular weak thinking they don’t even realise occurs at certain points.
We tend to identify our weaker mental moments with dramas and sad happenings – relationship issues and break ups, losing a job, financial woes, Christmas and a sense of pressure to make it right, and losing family members. It’s OK and normal to expect our minds not to be in their best place at such times.
But, right in front of our eyes every day, week, or month are reoccurring hot spots we fail to notice that are the real culprits in our mental state. The ghosts in our machine.
And that’s precisely what this post is for. Finding your weak thinking hot spots.
Weak spots be gone.
We are going to shake down your schedule.
Shake it down and shake it up. In your everyday are the triggers that flip your mind from, ‘I got this’, to, ‘This has got me’. And we’re going to discover those little critters. So, let’s get on with it.
Firstly, you have to go day to day.
If you are REALLY committed to this (you are, aren’t you?) and getting rid of your weaker mentality, grab a piece of paper and write out the full seven days, Monday to Sunday, day by day on the left hand side. This is going to table a typical week. Your usual weekly experience when there are no holidays, special events, national breaks like Easter and similar. Nothing but the humdrum days when you do what you always do.
Start on a Monday and reflect on what usually happens from the second that alarm goes off and the week calls. When you open your eyes and think about what you are about to do and what’s ahead. Because I guarantee you that this is where it all kicks off. Right in that uninspired/frustrated (*fill in you descriptive word) mind when Monday morning arrives.
What are your routine thoughts and beliefs?
‘Why am I doing this?’.
‘I’m hate my life’.
”I am worth nothing, look where I’ve ended up.
‘I am never going to be happy’.
Those early mindset messages are your first mental red flags. They set up the rest of the week based on their theme. You MUST bring them out into the open and know the ones that juggle around your head.
They are the ones running the show.
Day by Day dynamics.
Carry on and snapshot the seven days.
Begin to identify your tiring or lacklustre or stressful times that are limiting your thinking. Known situations that leave you feeling less than optimistic or in a funk.
Maybe it’s the team meeting every Tuesday that drags your mind down into the dumps. Or Friday’s after work when you used to go for an end of week few drinks that you can’t afford to do anymore. Perhaps it’s those phone calls to your grown up kids that live away from home now.
You have repeat offenders in your world (your head). They keep stealing a positive outlook from your mind, thieves who make you feel victim to something. The good news is it’s an inside job. When you discover the days and times and specific scenarios that are dogging your mind, you can begin to put them right.
So, to make them right, get writing!!
From this exercise you want to shine light on TWO big results.
- When your mind is lapsing into weak mode.
- What you then think and feel.
Truly one leads to another.
When it’s all written up keep that naughty mind calendar and have a good look at it. Spy the weak thinking spots. See and solve.
You want a new week and less weakness!
Hot space instead of hot spots.
Now you’re going to stop the drops.
A daily diary, a reminder on your phone, a check set on your email calendar. Whatever it takes to keep your head up and strong reminding you not to think wrong. Something that’s got your back while you get your mind back on its A-game. A kind of substitute voice saying, ‘You got this’!!
Then when you have mastered this turn your attention to the other well established head busters that you find your mind begins to weaken on.
Your birthday – hey, you don’t feel you get the love anymore.
Wage talks each year with the boss – you always cave in and never negotiate the pay rise you seek and deserve.
Christmas – you spend too much trying to please while everyone else gives you cool but less expensive stuff.
You know the type. You’ve been there before. Often. Anniversaries. Events. Holiday occasions, even family gatherings or first dates etc.
These road blockers to your mental progression in the year have to be factored in too like this. Your pesky mind deflators that keep coming round you let flatten you time after time. Yep, you gotta add a good dose of honesty here. You won’t be beating any scenario you keep allowing to beat you up inside on a constant basis.
Take a look at them all. It may not be as many as you fear when you read this post. There may just be a couple of doozies that dunk you in doom that you finally have to face down. Your life may have come down to little hot spots of lowdown thinking each week interspersed with a couple of other weaker moments across the year that have got in your mental space. Picking them out enables you to get that space back. A good space. A strong space. Hey, even a hot space.
In one week you are going to start being less weak in your mind. Where will you be in one year??
Photo attribute – Free to use under Pixabay content license by Simedblack.
