Weekly Wisdom – Does Your Life Suck?Has this thought ever gone through your mind?
By the time we hit our 40s, most of us have been though our fair share of ups and downs. Some of us more downs than ups. And it can be a challenge to see the positive side of things.
The thought of “My Life Sucks” is called a blanketing thought.
Why?
Let me explain. We have all played some kind of game or sport. And, we have all had a day when we performed poorly. When this happens, we can begin with “damn. what a horrible shot.” We continue to perform poorly and think “wow. I am really sucking today.”
If the poor performance continues, the thoughts can evolve into “I really suck at this game.” And, if we are not careful, it will progress into “Damn! I suck! I hate this game! I am never any good at it!”
Now, commonly, this all originated from one bad shot. This bad shot shook our concentration and we continued to perform poorly because our focus was on the negative. And what did we do? We went from a bad shot to we suck and hate the game.
We just BLANKETED the whole sport and ourselves with insults and negative thoughts. Don’t get discouraged. Blanketing is natural to most. You have to actually be aware of what is going on in order to stop the blanketing.
Listen guys, this thought is like a disease. It creeps into your mind. Grabs onto other thoughts. Infects them and grows.
This is how guys can go from stubbing their toe all the way to My Life Sucks in one day.
When something negative happens to you, stop, take a breath, remove yourself from the situation and remind yourself…it is a bad occurrence, not a bad life.
When I am playing a game, even one that is for fun like putt putt golf and I suck bad at it for some reason. I will actually laugh. It is hard to be mad at yourself when you are laughing. Seriously. I will recognize that I am not performing well, take a breath, remind myself that it is just a bad shot. And if I cannot shake it, I will commonly just laugh.
I will think…Geez! What a horrible shot. I wonder if I can make the next one worse?!?! And laugh.
Obviously this cannot work for every situation. Sometimes we cannot simply laugh. Sometimes we cannot physically remove ourselves from the situation at the time. But, we can always stop, take a breath, remind ourselves that it is a negative event, not a bad life and continue on.
I am NOT saying this is easy. But wouldn’t you rather stop the spread of the diseased thinking before it goes through all of your thoughts and turns your great life into a “My Life Sucks” kind of life?
That takes awareness and it takes effort. This kind of diseased thinking can literally lead to health problems through the increase in stress (Read This Post > https://www.facebook.com/MensFitnessAfter40/posts/963606777521304).
Guys…take a stand and quit being a blanketer. And if you have others in your life, take a moment to explain what blanketing is. So that way you can tell them to stop blanketing when you see them doing it and they can help you stop when you are.
If you woke up this morning, your life is full of possibilities. See the good in what you have, stop the diseased thinking and quit blanketing your life.
Simple Concepts. Powerful Results.
Specifically Designed For Guys Over 40.