#343 Weed out resistance



Is something or someone bugging you immensely? Is that feeling of annoyance creeping into your life in a way that is determimental to your health and well-being? Then I have some really bad news for you.
You're the one who has to change.

"What you resist, persists." Apparently some great psychoanalyst said it, and it has to do with thinking patterns. You can't NOT think about pain for example - especially when it hurts all the time. But thinking about it actually activates the same neural pathways that the pain uses, so it intensifies the pain experience! That's why thinking about pain, increases pain. What you can do is to make a conscious effort to think about something else.

So resisting pain and fighting pain are actually not tools you can use to get rid of pain.

I implement this in my daily life by observing my thoughts. If I get stuck in a negative rut I break my state by doing a little happy dance, and quickly follow up by substituting my negative thoughts for more constructive ones. I make a mental effort to think about things that make me happy, and actively search for things that are beautiful and uplifting in my surroundings.

Maybe I've been so stuck in my pain and worries that I'm not even aware of my surroundings? Maybe I need to check where my feet are and center myself. "Oh, I'm in the kitchen!!" Then I think of something practical I can do. Like the dishes... or ... making a cup of tea! That way I break my negative state, and by repeating this technique I am gradually exchanging my resistance and annoyance with practical action - with great benefit both to my emotional well being and my physical health.

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