I found this photo, and I really like it because it says a lot about what I'm feeling. I'm always battling my own thoughts and beliefs.
This is my underlying thought:
Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right - Henry Ford.
This is sometimes quoted with a slight variation:
Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right. ~Henry Ford
I like the second variation. Thinking... thinking can sometimes be our own worst enemy. It's the internal battles that we wage with ourselves every day.
I have been fighting thoughts for a long long time. Actually you can insert as many "longs" into that sentence as you like. It would be about right. I fight a battle of self expectation and others expectations. I fight battles of self destructive learned behavior. I fight battles about what I think people think of me - even if they don't think it!
My inner Phantom Menace can at times be my nemesis.
This post is not complete... I am posting it up as work in progress, because I have a lot to say about my inner voice.
Wow... what a great image. I'm going to be watching this space....because I can really relate to what you say about expectations - how what you tell yourself becomes real. I was revising some things just this morning for a program I'm currently attending and the very same quote you have here from Henry Ford was with the notes. One of those syncronicities that has really made me think on what I've also been telling myself lately. A great lesson for me is knowing what's real and what's not, but even more valuable is knowing that even the most seemingly together and well adjusted people have the same battles... Having enough insight to 'see the mind' has really benefited me during these times - but it's an ongoing process... and one I've come to realise never actually stops - so fighting the mind doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to hear what you recommend to stop fighting the mind? I've found using mindfulness meditation has really helped. The following links relate to what I'm talking about. The first is from Pema Chodron who just had a way of describing things that I can relate...although sometimes you need to put aside the Buddhist acronyms and slogans, and the second is to a PDF document which includes some mindfulness exercises from the blackdoginstitute - about decluttering the mind...
1. http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema/meditation1.php
2. http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/HandoutMindfulnessinEverydayLife.pdf
Thanks for your honesty and insights