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Maintaining Positive Forward Motion
Jun. 7th, 2016 08:40 amFrom July 24, 2011
~Woke up very depressed. My dreams had been of the frustrating 'thwarted at every turn' variety. [fuckin' hate those!] I sat on the edge of my bed and brushed my hair. Then I just processed through my feelings and what specifically was depressing me in Waking Time. All things I'm already aware of and have whined about here in this journal.
Brushing my hair helped. It was a 'positive action'. That got me to my desk, which led to turning on my comp and putting together my supplements. That then led to brushing my teeth, washing my face and heading to the kitchen. There I took my supplements, made coffee, got a banana, etc.
All that changed my chemistry and now I'm okay. Not great, but 'okay', which is better than 'fuck, man, I'm so fucked'.
This is a practical demonstration of the old AA bumper sticker, “Right Action Leads To Right Thinking.”
Basically, even if you feel totally fucked..Take Action, preferably small and steady action to move yourself forward. Taking Big Actions from that state of mind is usually a Bad Idea. “Baby Steps For Baby Feet” is the backup bumper sticker in that regard.
For the really strong 'I Gotta Do Something Big Right Now' impulse, I go with, “Don't Just Do Something, Sit There” until the impulse passes. Believe me, that one has saved me a lot of grief. lol
This is not to eschew Long Term Goals. Just remember that those are always built upon a steady collection of previously achieved Short Term Goals...which brings us back to “Baby Steps For Baby Feet” and the ever popular “One Day At A Time.”
Of course, all of these things fall under the “Progress Not Perfection” mantra which makes the title of this post possible. Follow these behaviors long enough and soon they tend to kick in automatically, like combat reflexes for day to day living...because shit really IS tough out here.
And there ya have it, kids.
~Woke up very depressed. My dreams had been of the frustrating 'thwarted at every turn' variety. [fuckin' hate those!] I sat on the edge of my bed and brushed my hair. Then I just processed through my feelings and what specifically was depressing me in Waking Time. All things I'm already aware of and have whined about here in this journal.
Brushing my hair helped. It was a 'positive action'. That got me to my desk, which led to turning on my comp and putting together my supplements. That then led to brushing my teeth, washing my face and heading to the kitchen. There I took my supplements, made coffee, got a banana, etc.
All that changed my chemistry and now I'm okay. Not great, but 'okay', which is better than 'fuck, man, I'm so fucked'.
This is a practical demonstration of the old AA bumper sticker, “Right Action Leads To Right Thinking.”
Basically, even if you feel totally fucked..Take Action, preferably small and steady action to move yourself forward. Taking Big Actions from that state of mind is usually a Bad Idea. “Baby Steps For Baby Feet” is the backup bumper sticker in that regard.
For the really strong 'I Gotta Do Something Big Right Now' impulse, I go with, “Don't Just Do Something, Sit There” until the impulse passes. Believe me, that one has saved me a lot of grief. lol
This is not to eschew Long Term Goals. Just remember that those are always built upon a steady collection of previously achieved Short Term Goals...which brings us back to “Baby Steps For Baby Feet” and the ever popular “One Day At A Time.”
Of course, all of these things fall under the “Progress Not Perfection” mantra which makes the title of this post possible. Follow these behaviors long enough and soon they tend to kick in automatically, like combat reflexes for day to day living...because shit really IS tough out here.
And there ya have it, kids.
