What story are you telling?

The sound of my runners crunching on the road was in sync with my breathing and the words that I kept repeating in my head. .....

An hour earlier I was feeling a little unmotivated, but had just seen a post from one of my students, which rekindled my desire to get out and moving.
I put my runners on and set out on my little 7km 'joggle' - a kinda wiggle-woggle of a run! 

A few minutes in and that internal voice kicked in. Yup.. I still have one - loud and clear ;-)

The difference is that now I pay attention to it.

A few days previously I had finished 3 days of speaking and meeting some wonderful folk
at The Wellbeing Festival, about this very subject - 'Our Internal Voice' -
so I was primed and ready to hear what it had to say to me.

I listened carefully. 

" Danielle, you're tired! You've worked hard this week. Take it easy!"
" This is just too much like hard work ... maybe I should just walk."
" The more I continue the harder it's going to get!"
" Oh god...I just cant do this.."

Ahem ...sound familiar at all?

Well anyhow..I decided to take action (as I do now) and shut it up! 
So I said to myself firmly in my head ..."Come on Danielle, you can do this!"
It helped somewhat, so I continued. 
But I noticed something very interesting.
Something I had noticed a long time ago.

Something that had previously in fact ... saved my life.

Eight years ago I was suicidal.
It was the lowest, most scary and loneliest time in my life.
I felt so afraid and overwhelmed by my pain (my negative feelings).
I know now that I am keenly motivated to move away from pain as fast as I can.
(Knowing what motivates you is very beneficial by the way).

The first step was realising that if I wasn't creating a story with a result in my head,
then I couldn't really 'feel' anything. What I mean is, if I wasn't focusing on the past or the future, and either making up a good or bad ending then I wouldn't feel good or bad.

Now that may seem simple but for me at the time it was life-changing.
It was exactly what I needed back then. I just needed that first step.

Now I am a Mind Coach, so of course I believe in having goals and focusing on results. This is what I do best with the people I work with!
But sometimes, when you're overwhelmed and in pain, you simply want to free your mind.
It's vital to know what is needed and when it is needed. Timing is key.
This is what focusing on the NOW does.

For some reason as I joggled along repeating "Danielle, you can do this", I started to notice it felt like pressure. I was in too much discomfort (ie; pain) to feel really motivated. I felt stressed by it. Like I had to achieve.

I changed my internal Mantra to ..." I am here right NOW."
Yes, I know this may sound weird and not very motivational but it ... worked.

Suddenly, I felt more present. I felt grounded in the instant. In that exact moment.
Repeating this inside my head over and over kept bringing me back to right now.
Right NOW - and in so doing I couldn't focus on the discomfort -
because we simply cannot do both simultaneously.

I focused on the instant and before I had time to wonder would I make it home ...
I was shuffling into my garden again and it felt good! 

This is the power of your inner dialogue. Use it wisely.

The first step is to simply notice it.
Then decided is it useful to you and how does it cause you to feel.
If it doesn't serve you ..then change it...

Remember it's YOUR story.
So make it a good one.
 
Danielle xxx

​* Ready to learn more about how your mind works for you
and what words to use to make your life greater?
The Join us on The Bootcamp
or if you really want to delve deeper The next NLP Practitioner Training!

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