Why “Upside Thinking” is Your Best Tool
What if all the secrets to success were locked inside a vault – and all you needed to open it was to use the right combination?
What if accessing the insights, tools, and specific steps really were that easy?
Too many times in my life, I made things harder than they needed to be by looking outside of myself for answers.
Right now, there are big changes happening in the world, perhaps some of the biggest changes you or I will ever experience in our lifetime. \
Yet there are seasons to everything in life.
Times when it is winter and things go dark and more dormant.
During that time, you have the opportunity to birth new work.
Any time I’m in this “winter” season in my life literally or figuratively, I’m uncomfortable.
I look at what other people are doing and start comparing myself to them and their journey.
I get frustrated at why I’m not further when I’m really clear what my life path and purpose is. Why aren’t I “there” yet?
During this season of life, it’s easy to get off course, pushing harder and looking outside of yourself for what to do.
Bright shiny objects tend to get brighter during the darkness.
Your mindset, energy, and emotions paired with choice, direction, commitment, and consistent action create your success – in all aspects of your life.
Let’s look at that today – and how easy it is to get caught up in the cycle of negative self-talk.
“I may not survive this…”
“We could lose our house…”
“Things will never be the same…”
I realized, this is not accurate.
Many people are sick and these are uncertain times. That is reality.
However, I’ve got a healthy immune system, we have cash to pay our bills right now, and change is part of life.
In the moments when my mind starts crazy-making, it is because I’m scared and fear takes over my brain.
My brain doesn’t like the unknown – and neither does yours.
Our brains have a part that is responsible for our survival or flight/fight instinct.
It’s called the amygdala – and it hates the unknown or what is fuzzy.
When it experiences the unknown in any form, it fills in the blank with crazy, fear-based assumptions or worst-case scenarios.
And, while they are not true, if we spend too much time and energy and put too much emotion into these scenarios, they are likely to come true.
Keep a close watch on what you allow your brain to believe.
This is why my company is Upside Thinking.
Upside Thinking is the best tool to prevent the amygdala from having its way with you.
The amygdala is there to keep you safe – and just wants to be heard.
Write down all of the ways you feel scared because of the uncertainty you’re experiencing.
Examine it through the lens of the 7 Areas of Well- Being.
How are you struggling with the unknown physically, emotionally, intellectually, financially, spiritually, relationally, and at work?
After you write down your fears, write the Upside truth next to it.
For me, it would look like this — “Millions of people are dying…” changes to “Billions of people are alive, and healthy.”
BIG changes are part of life. The AIDS Crisis. The dot.com Crash. 9/11.
Some people live their lives on a best-case scenario – in which any minor bump in the road feels traumatic.
Other people spend so much time thinking about the rain, they never notice the sunshine.
Change is part of life – and it’s hard, messy, and uncomfortable.
From my perspective, there are 5 stages of change – Denial, Shock, Fear, Acceptance, and Transformation.
Big changes take longer to get through to transformation.
In February and early March, I was in the jungle in Costa Rica for 3 weeks – and in denial. “The media is making a big deal about nothing…”
When I came home in mid-March and talked to friends involved at the highest levels of government and started reading more, I was in shock and fear. “I don’t like this one bit…” The fear was for myself, my husband, my family, my loved ones, and my clients.
By late March, I had moved into acceptance, and it sounded like this, “This is going to impact everyone I am connected to – and it is the new normal.”
I’ve got to be honest, I don’t stay there all day long every day. I bounce back and forth from denial, shock, fear, and acceptance, trusting that transformation is coming.
What has helped is recognizing this is my journey to navigate and the keys to successfully navigating reside within me.
So, what can you do?
Start by changing your fearful self-talk. Look and listen for something else.
Focus on where you’ve grown and what you’ve gained during these uncertain times.
Honor your feelings and choose to reframe your language.
Right now, the world needs your brilliance more than ever.
What are you doing to be a force for good on the planet?
Keep in mind what you will hear as you look back on yourself during this time: as Glinda the Good Witch said, “You had the power all along, my dear.”
ACTION: The Upside Challenge of the week is to ask yourself a series of questions:
- What is the one thing you can do to stand in acceptance and move towards transformation? For example, reach out to people each day just to ask them how they’re doing.
- What is something you can do that you’ve been putting off for a long time? For example, I’ve hired someone to work with me to update my Speaker one-sheet, and our house has never been more organized.
- What are you thankful for? My list has never been longer…
Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely. Live Upside.
The world needs you and your brilliance.
