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• Classic-Fiction

I’d feel happier.

I’d have more energy.

I’d feel more confident.

I wouldn’t worry so much.

Life would be more exciting.

I’d have closer relationships.

I’d be more relaxed.

I’d be living what I believe.

I’d be healthier.

I’d be learning something new.

Other, other, other.

As a variation, you can create an image of having already made the change. Picture it in your mind’s eye with details of where you are and what you are doing. Breathe into the thoughts and sensations, let them expand throughout your body, make them brighter, stronger, more expansive.

Continue to imagine that the change has already happened. I am sober; I’ve moved; I take a walk several days a week; I am meditating regularly. If fears, saboteurs, or censors arise, walk them into a waiting room, sit them down, and shut the door and come back to the positive visualization. I’ll discuss several processes to work with this later on. Finally, persevere. If you get off track, be kind to yourself and start again. Keep your focus on all you have to gain and notice how you feel—physically and emotionally.

45. Explore the Eight Steps That Take You from Thought to Action

Now that you’ve spent time focusing on what you’d like to change, and all you have to gain, you’ve set the stage for taking action.

1. Feel the inner swirl of not taking action. When you have needs, goals, or ideas of how you want to live differently but don’t take action, you might become a living, swirling whirlpool of energy with no direction or outlet. It’s as if your hopes, goals, thoughts, excuses, rationalizations, guilt, irritation at yourself, get put in a mixing bowl and churn around inside your body, creating pressure and going nowhere. You might feel both dull and chaotic with spurts of energy going in random directions. You might be caught in some familiar thoughts:

“The boyfriend is not good for me, but I don’t want to give up be-ing part of a couple.”

“I want to be sober, but I can’t imagine living without alcohol to fall back on when I’m upset.”

“I want to live more simply, but I keep taking on too many projects, buying too much stuff, and getting myself in debt.”

“I want to be slim, but I can’t say no to sweets and that second helping of pasta.”

These dualities can range from a nagging little voice that arises periodically to a chronic state of congestion, agitation, or unhappiness. Being out of sync with yourself is revealed in your body and mind: you might experience frustration, pain, repetitive thoughts, low energy, body tension, and compulsions, all swirling around inside, directionless and chaotic.

2. See the big picture. Name the concern and explore everything about it. The first step out of the swirl (also known as overwhelm, a speeding mind, worry, and anxiety) is to slow it down, focus on one concern, and take it apart so you can see it and calm yourself. Don’t talk in swirl language by endlessly recounting the trials and tribulations of your life to yourself and others. This will only cause your body to tense up and secrete the stress hormone cortisol. It’s much more useful to breathe, drop your shoulders, and soften your belly and relax. Remember, solutions often arise from a state of alert calm as we gain a different perspective.

Take one concern or goal you’d like to explore more deeply. What’s stopping you? What are you afraid of? Although the situation may appear to have a simple answer, many times it’s part of a bigger picture involving time, money, responsibilities, energy, and inner saboteurs. And remember, on the path of getting unstuck, all roads lead to Rome. In other words, if you can change one thing that has you stuck, you will loosen up the knots of resistance and be more able to change something else.

Look at all aspects of a concern. For example, if the chronic mess in your house upsets you, explore what the problem is really about. Do you need more storage shelves? Coat hooks in the front hall? A plan for everyone in