“There is no such thing as a problem … Just an opportunity to grow and learn to do something better.”
This was one of my favourite lines from last week’s article. It’s a line that I have mentioned many times before and if you know me well, then you will definitely have heard me say it more than once. Problems are all around us, but I truly do believe it is our judgment around these problems that is the real factor. I will come back to this later in the article.
Last Sunday was Father’s Day and for obvious reasons, this is one of my favourite days of the year.
Now, I normally call this day FAMILY DAY as for me it is all about family and the most important people in my life.
In the morning we had my father-in-law over for breakfast, I then went for a quick Father’s Day workout around lunchtime and then the whole family went out for a huge lunch and, wow, when I mean lunch, I could easily mean lunch and dinner.
We had laughs.
We ate good food.
We shared stories.
We listened and joked.
What am I trying to get at then? Last week in one of my daily videos, I talked about the importance of social interaction.
As humans, we crave social interaction and when it comes to overall mental health, talking and being with people is a good thing.
I felt so relaxed last Sunday, and a lot is to do with the fact that I was with the people that I love, and the conversation was great.
I am quite an extrovert in that I like being with people so being sociable and having a good laugh with others is something that I love to do.
What did you do last Sunday?
Did you do anything enjoyable?
Was your weekend filled with activities that added to your life force or took away from your life force?
I make it a habit to add something to my day every day that adds to my overall lifeforce. I mentioned in a previous article back in 2018 a concept called your lifestyle bank account.
Now I am guessing that you have an actual bank account and you understand the difference between a withdrawal and a deposit.
In simple terms, the more you withdraw, the further into your overdraft you go. The more you deposit, the higher your balance becomes, and you can enjoy more of life’s luxuries.
Your lifestyle bank account is not too dissimilar and it’s a subject that I have been invested in heavily in the last year or so.
Lifestyle choices such as exercise, drinking water, getting good quality sleep, walking, mental affirmations, meditation and flexibility work are deposits. Your body likes these and will reward you accordingly.
On the other hand, lifestyle choices such as late-night eating, not enough sleep, too much TV time, too much alcohol, too many takeaways and pressing the snooze button are withdrawals. Too many of these and you will enter your overdraft.
Keep doing this and soon you’ll be getting a call from the bank. Your body does not like many of these transactions.
What choices have you been making recently?
What is your body telling you?
Would your internal bank manager be happy or not happy right now?
Is your account sitting sweet with loads of available cashflow or are you approaching your overdraft limit?
You are the number one person to be analysing your internal account. How about right now, take out a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On one side, write withdrawals (negative choices) and on the other side write deposits (positive choices) and then using your common-sense start writing down as many choices as you can that you have been making. Take your time and really get as many written down as possible. You will soon see how your lifestyle bank account is looking?
One of the processes I do regularly with my clients is to carry out an analysis or an audit on their account. Maybe doing this quick activity today will allow you a snapshot view of your current situation.
Now, going back to the beginning of the article, I mentioned my quote from last week which was “There is no such thing as a problem … Just an opportunity to grow and learn to do something better” and I also mentioned that it is our judgment that should be of focus. I want to touch on what I mean by this just quickly today.
“Events happen, and we go through various experiences with these events. Have you ever been in a situation with a few people and everyone had a slightly differing experience and view about the event. This goes to show that it is not the event itself that is unique but our judgment or view around the event that matters.”
How can we use this information then?
Next time something happens that causes you some distress or discomfort, think about how you can reframe the situation to give you an option to change the course of the event. Let’s say you are upset because your boss has been tough on you and called you out on an issue. You could be annoyed and angry and blame everyone else and blame your boss or you could approach it differently. Could it be that your boss cares about you and wants the best from you?
Could it be that he or she has had a bad day and just at that point you came into their vision and he or she needed to have a winge?
Could it be that you have been secretly named as one of the high flyers within the company and your boss doesn’t want you to miss out on future opportunities?
There could be several reasons, but my point is … DON’T LET IT RUIN YOUR DAY, REFOCUS and then get back on track and get bossing it again.
So, there we have it for this week. Happy Sunday, be awesome, get reframing, get at those opportunities and let’s make our judgments as positive and forward thinking as possible.
Chris Hunt is the Head Mind, Body and Life Coach at The FUNdaMENTAL Coach based out of The Hub, Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham
