The current economic crisis has wreaked havoc on, not only the financial conditions of many, but also on their mental and emotional well-being. Stress is the order of the day with the stock market serving up unhealthy portions of anxiety, worry, fear, doubt and uncertainty. The housing market contributes to the feast with its daily side orders of loss of value, foreclosures and depression. Then there's the host of the meal, the media, that loves to shove it all down our throats making sure we get our fair share and taste every bitter morsel.
Just as the quality of food we ingest affects us positively or negatively, so does the quality of mental food. And we're fed lots of crap, wouldn't you agree? Mental fast food fed to us by the Golden Arches of the Airways, the big "M." And you probably can guess that the" M" doesn't stand for McDonalds; it stands for Media. Even Social Media. Why? Because, unfortunately, people like to regurgitate the crap their fed, chew on it a while, and then feed it to all their friends. My suggestion is this... when you're fed a bunch of crap, don't swallow it! Spit it out! Even better, don't sit down at a table full of crap in the first place! In other words, don't watch the news and don't engage in gossip about the news. Don't Facebook the news, tweet the news or post the news. By then it's no longer the news, it's now the "olds."
What I'm suggesting is hard to do, I know, because we've become addicted. We have drama, therefore we exist! Since what I'm suggesting is next to impossible for most of us, here are five great tips to help you keep your mental and emotional fitness up even while the global economy's fitness is down:
1) If you must watch the news, don't participate in it. Don't comment on it, neither to yourself nor others. Don't gossip about it or engage in conversations about it (unless it's good news). Just observe it, that's all, with your only intention being to stay up to date and informed.
2) Practice "perceptual shifting" when observing the news to help you stay detached. Rather than watching the TV through your own eyes, try watching yourself watch the news. Huh? Yes, pretend your body is in a theater room watching the news and you are in the projection booth watching yourself in the theater watching the news. I'm not crazy! You'll be changing neural pathways. Just play with it, whether you're watching, reading or listening.
3) Stop the inclination to judge events and circumstances as "Good" or "Bad," "Right" or "Wrong." Things just are. Life is. Quite often, though we can't see it in the moment, "Bad" things have to happen in order for "Good" things to show up. Remember, you heard it here first!
4) Take away the "to me" or "to us" part of the sentence. Example: Look what Wall Street is doing "to us." Don't be a victim. This type of language causes you to become a victim of circumstance and an active participant. Instead, language it this way: Look what Wall Street is doing. That's it, that's all, end of story. Don't add your own commentary and don't personalize.
5) For every minute of the news you allow yourself to observe, pay a positive consequence. Read a self-help or spiritual book for an equal amount of minutes. Or, Meditate, exercise or journal for an equal amount of time. Find ways to balance the positive with the negative. Most of the world is in an unhealthy place right now but you don't have to be. Stop participating! Stop swallowing the crap. Detach. Feed yourself mental and spiritual food daily. Think outside the box because what's in the box stinks! Furthermore, you may be surprised at what you find once you are outside the box that everyone else is in.
About The Author:
Co-star of the iconic film, The Karate Kid, now leading expert in the field of human potential, "Sensei" Ron Thomas, invites you to visit http://changehowithink.com/ and get a FREE Mini-Course on The Black Belt Mindset.
As a Transformational Life Coach, Author and Speaker specializing in Focus and Personal Breakthroughs, his extensive training in NLP, Hypnosis, TimeLine Therapy, Human Behavior and Spirituality - not to mention his world championship background in athletics and martial arts - uniquely qualify him as a leading authority in Personal Development and Human Potential. Visit http://changehowithink.com/ today! Change how you think and change your life!
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