20 Feb Held Captive
People believe that being held captive, is being held against their will, usually through a physical restraint, and then locked into a room from which they cannot escape. (Think any of the Taken box office hit movies)
My view?
The mind is by far the biggest captor.
The way this begins is through your thoughts. Most people believe that they have no power over them, and that what comes into their minds must be followed and trusted. What if I was to tell you that the opposite is true? That instead of helping you, your thoughts are often harmful, and that the only real way to break out of captivity, is to not blindly believe them and challenge them instead.
Our mind is so used to trusting negative thinking, that it doesn’t recognize the damage being done. If you’re not sure that is true, try this:
If I presented you with feedback, sat you down and stated eight very positive comments, one average comment, and one negative comment, which one do you think, your mind would go to, sit on, and spend endless amounts of time agonising over?
See what I mean?
It’s the negative one, all the time.
Let this become your new truth about what being held captive means.
How then, can you possibly try to change your thinking, so you are not being held captive by it? How can you stop following it blindly wherever it leads you? Which, by the way, is usually to more stress, more anxiety, and less autonomy over your day-to-day life.
You can, and here’s how.
The first step is to challenge your thinking. Every time you go to make yourself a hot drink ask yourself how you are feeling, if you are feeling less than happy check in with the last few thoughts you’ve had. Chances are they have been negative, self-critical, or too demanding of yourself. You have the power to change this, by becoming aware of them and then changing the narrative to the exact opposite.
Did you know that the mind can’t differentiate between what is real and what is imagined, so this makes this even more powerful, and I want you to know: This stuff works.
Sports psychologists use it all the time.
Next time you have a negative feeling and you have traced it back to some thoughts you’ve been having about yourself or others, simply do the following:
1. Say the exact opposite of that thought out loud. e.g. if my negative thought was ‘I’m never going to be able to finish everything in time’, the exact opposite statement would be ‘I finish everything easily within the deadline’.
2. Then you simply close your eyes and imagine how that would feel should it happen. That is the X factor, and the exact feeling you need to have this work positively and consistently.
3. Make it a habit that when you go to make that hot drink, you check in with your thoughts, you challenge them by replacing them, and you feel and act as if that narrative were happening to you NOW.
This will work if you give it attention and time. Please stop giving your power away to a mind that is conditioned to focus on lack and negativity. Take charge today so that you can live your life feeling more positive, optimistic and in charge of what happens to you.
Survivors you need to have power over you, your choices, and what happens in your lives.
You are not captive any longer. You have freed yourselves from the tyranny of your past and the thoughts you have. This is your life, live it the way you want. You at least deserve that.
And by the way: Being Captive is no longer an option.
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