How many things do we seem to struggle with over and over again? It happens for all of us. We all have our grooves and things we get stuck in. It’s part of being human, and it’s part of our human psychology to get caught up in particular patterns of thinking.
What we don’t always recognize is that it’s our thinking we’re experiencing over and over again. It seems very real that it’s a scenario out there that keeps happening over and over again. We think ‘Oh no, not this again. Why does this keep happening to me?’ And it may be that there are similar situations or circumstances that do seem to be on repeat. But what really gets to us, causing us to suffer, is our thinking about these situations and how habitual that is.
We think ‘Oh no, not this again’ because our thinking about it gets so old and stale. We don’t realise it’s our thinking that we’re experiencing, rather than the circumstances themselves.
We got anxious, low, frustrated, confused and exasperated with the same old thoughts passing through our minds, and the feelings they bring with them.
So whenever we’re feeling stirred up about anything it seems that it can be really helpful to notice whether those feelings feel habitual and familiar. If they do we can see that it’s just the stale old thoughts that we’re reacting to again and again, which usually take us to the same old familiar place of not feeling good.
Whenever we notice this we get the opportunity to take a fresh look. If we can see that we’re looking at present situations through the lens of our old and stale thinking, we can choose to wipe the soot off those lenses. Or even better to pick up a new pair.
It can be fun to see what we notice about old, familiar, or repetitive circumstances that we might have found difficult in the past when we look with fresh eyes.
We don’t have to drag the past and our old conditioned responses to it into this moment, which is brand new. We always get the opportunity to take a fresh look.
Why would we want to muddy the slate when we don’t have to?
And what would those circumstances, people or scenarios look like with completely fresh eyes?
It’s something we can choose to play with.
When we do it seems that we naturally start responding differently to what we see, which brings with it a whole new experience, full of space and fresh possibilities.
With love,
Kelly x
E-mail me at kelly@kellyjburns.com to set up a free 30 minute call if there is a particular situation in your life you would like to see with fresh eyes. You can also check out my Work with Me page.