I had a thought provoking discussion this morning. We were discussing our thoughts and how they create our feelings. I had missed a meeting and my knee jerk thought was “I screwed up” and that thought caused me to feel disorganized. The thought did not go away and I started to feel anxious. The more I thought about it the worse I felt.
I magnified the event (missing the meeting). I did not validate the facts. I continue to think, “I screwed up again, I can’t keep anything straight.” I felt discombobulated. I beat myself up over and over again.
Our discussion eventually moved to my loved one with short term memory challenges. Her memories are often lost forever. If she had forgotten a meeting as I did, she may very well have forgotten that she forgot. There would be no regurgitating the thought over and over again. She will not beat herself up.
So who is happier and calmer? Me or my loved one?
(and that meeting? it did not exist….Zoom had sent me a message saying someone was waiting in my meeting room…there was no meeting….I did not forget! All those negative thoughts and it was not true!)
HartFelt wishes your thoughts and feelings are not magnified needlessly
HartFelt Coaching 