Flex. . .
Flexibility was the main driver of behavior change. If behavior changes through consistent action, then whatever enables consistent action is the most valuable activator. That’s flexibility.
When you’re flexible, you gain significant power to overcome obstacles. If you will only go in a straight line, a big boulder will stop you. If you’re willing to go around, over, or under it, you can proceed! It’s a shame then, that most people pursue goals in a straight line method. Ironically, it’s done this way because it feels stronger (“No excuses, I’ll do this no matter what!”). It’s far weaker.
What can mental flexibility do? And what does it actually mean?
Mental flexibility, or flexibility of thought is the ability to think laterally. This idea is layered in the following ways.
- Creativity: Instead of assuming one way of doing something, do you ever consider alternative approaches?
- Problems: Instead of ruminating on issues, can you shift your focus to solutions or blessings instead?
- When you initially assume something, do you ever challenge it? If so, how quickly?
Mental flexibility’s main purpose is to prevent you from feeling stuck. When people feel stuck, in nearly every case, they are creating that reality with rigid thinking.
Emotions are cyclical just like thought patterns, and they feed each other. Thus, the flexible thinker is able to “catch” the beginnings of a negative cycle before it gets bad. It’s amazing to think that a rigid thinker can turn one bad day or event into a bad week, month, or life. That sounds absurd, but think about what rigid thinking is and does. By its nature, it doesn’t change, it embeds itself deeper and deeper into your habits and psyche.
Today, I encourage you to monitor your self-talk. Challenge negative thoughts for veracity. Look for opportunities to pivot your thinking to a more useful place. The first step to increasing your flexibility of thought is awareness. Ask yourself questions about recurring thoughts and ideas, such as what purpose they serve, and if they are accurate.
Your thoughts are your world. Take care of them. Think with flexibility, and then you can keep the thoughts and ideas that serve you best. Challenge rigid thoughts that feed themselves, trap you, and steal your life force. Like anything else, the more you practice challenging your thought patterns, the better you’ll get at recognizing them and pivoting to better ideas.
Peace and Love, Jim
#flexiblethoughts #thedailybuddha
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