I noticed my own self that I spent, and I use that word purposefully, I spent a huge amount of time yesterday on attempting to solve a problem I was having with microsoft word.
I tried what seemed to be a hundred different ways to ‘fix’ it. I googled it, I reached out to my fabulous ‘techie’ family, trying every suggestion they had, all to no avail.
How much time and energy and how many activities in your day are centred around solving a problem of one kind or another?
Maybe not such an obvious or easy problem as mine…but perhaps you have a challenge with your weight…a problem to be solved. Perhaps you have a challenge with relationships…a problem to be solved.
Maybe you have a health challenge, a financial challenge, any kind of challenge: after all we’ve been conditioned to think about what isn’t working, what we should have, who we should be and how can we improve it.
No longer cool in my life.
Yet here I was, forgetful of what I knew, in that moment of, ‘I have a problem to solve‘.
Wish it was that conscious, sadly it wasn’t.
It came from the place where all our experiences move us into action; my subconscious mind. It must still be running old programmes…thankfully not as often as it used to.
My Darling One reminded me.
He does that whenever necessary.
Have you focused on what you want? Err, do I have to answer that truthfully? Didn’t matter, he knew the answer anyway.
What Won’t Work, Ever
We’re trained to focus on solving our problems, our challenges, our ‘this could be better’.
This means we’re focused on the wrong end of the thing.
We’re getting in the way of experiencing what we actually do want. How the heck can it get through to us when we’re furiously radiating with thoughts and feelings of something that isn’t working. In short we’re resisting.
We don’t have to be an Einstein to get that resistance to our current reality can only bring more challenges for us to face.
I was pretty put out that microsoft word wasn’t doing what I wanted. In the scheme of things it’s not a big deal.
But when we translate this resistance into areas of our life that are really important…I know you get the picture.
Feeling hurt, angry, resentful, worried or plain ticked off, or any other negative emotion isn’t actually going to make it better it’s just going to bring us more experiences to feel the same way about.
I know it sucks.
But honestly, better to know this even if we remember a bit late, because then we’ve moved into a position of power. A position where we can make changes.
Don’t Fight Your Thoughts
Why? Because you’re perpetuating the energy of the very thing you don’t want.
Remember we get what we focus on. And it’s pretty hard to monitor our daily thoughts, since as we’ve all heard ad infinitum, we have somewhere in the region of 60,000 of those little critters in one day.
What we can do is pay attention to how we feel.
Feelings are the secret to creation, we need to use them on our behalf to be able to receive all the wonders that await.
We can check in with how we feel easily throughout the day…make it a habit.
If it doesn’t feel good, find a better feeling thought…about anything. I should have done that sooner and my ‘little problem’ would have been fixed a heck of a lot quicker.
I’m not saying don’t ever feel sad, or bad or unhappy or angry.
Just don’t hang on to these feelings any longer than you need to. They’re not sitting there doing nothing, they’re powerful creative forces. Feel them and move on.
Flow With Life And Not Against It
We all want to lead the best possible life we can imagine. We can’t do this unless we decide to flow with the power of creation and not against it. And the force of creation flows from being to having, not the other way around.
First, we must be. And being doesn’t come from out there, it’s an inner experience unique to us all.
Your beingness is different from mine and your family and friends and all the rest the world.
I needed to be the person with a perfectly functioning microsoft word.
You need to be the person who has the ideal relationship, or body, or finances or career or whatever current problem you’re working on solving.
We can, and let’s face it often do, allow our outer experiences to determine our level of being.
I did that very thing with my little problem. But what happens is that those circumstances are then in control of our life and most importantly how we feel, especially about ourselves.
Who hasn’t fallen for the ‘I’ll be happy when syndrome’ at some time in their life.
Or I can’t do that just now, I have to wait for……..fill in the blank. No surprise we don’t get what we want or what we’re waiting for, we always and only get who we are at the deepest level.
And it’s not who we say we are, or who other people think we are, because we’re pretty good at fooling them and us.
But who we truly are because regardless of what we might say, we can’t fool the laws of life. It’s like trying to fool the divine, it can’t be done, we still will only get who we are.
And who are you?
You’re everything you believe yourself to be, please make it wonderful.
The main reason someone moves mountains, has the best romance ever, or creates something magical is because they believed they could.
Our life doesn’t have to be mostly about solving problems.
So whaddya think?
Would love to hear from you with your tips, insights, problems you have or have let go of. Who knows, you might just encourage someone in our community to move into a more inspired state of mind.
Encourage one another.
Love Elle
xoxo
21 Comments
Oh Elle, you continue to write right to my heart. Yes, life is so much easier if we were to just go with it and trust that we’re headed in the right direction with an outcome that’s best for us. If we just gave in, we’d not only have more space of mind but also so much more happiness and ease. Hope this makes sense. Thanks for another amazing post.
How happy that makes me Anne-Sophie and you are so right that if we trust we’re heading for the desired outcome that’s good for us, and everyone else involved it will be so much easier. I love the idea of having more space of mind. Cool phrase. 🙂
Hi Elle,
Thanks for the reminder “don’t fight your thoughts.” Sometimes when I’m stuck it’s exactly what I try to do. What works better for me is to “move my body.” It changes my energy. It doesn’t have to be a big change. It can be a walk in your backyard or 5 jumping jacks. As long as I can get away from my computer…I can remember who I am.
I’ve been noticing that too lately Tess. Thanks for bringing it up. Getting away from our computer allows us to remember who we are. I need to remember that for myself. So thank you. 🙂
Elle, You and I will continue to have “problems” that need to be dealt with… some big, some small. That’s a reality of Life. We can either try to fix them ourselves or get help. However, don’t let the problem linger … fix it, so that you can spend more time on the “good things in Life” … like the flow
Be good to yourself
David
Life Coach. Listener. Solution Finder.
I like the way you put that David. As always you bring such encouragement to your comments. 🙂
Hi Elle,
I’m so glad we’ve reconnected! Thank you for a beautiful post and reminder. I hadn’t thought of problem solving as a manifestation of resistance, but of course the words presuppose a problem, ergo barrier. Have to think about that…
I was just on Lori Gosselin’s blog chatting about being an empath, and that has spilled over into my thoughts about your topic. Like you, I try to focus on my feelings, but the waters get muddied easily. A person I work with is dissatisfied with her life, and no matter how much I know it isn’t me and that I should (awful word!) be able to remain joyful, whenever we’re together, I feel dissatisfied. Arrggg! Two hours later I’m happy again, but it makes me wonder what on earth I’ve attracted in the two hours of feeling low. Do you have an insight into that, Elle? I’d love some wise counsel!
Thanks again for writing such a helpful post! Hug,
Carole
Hello Carole, lovely to hear from you. Aah something isn’t working, could you possibly be in the place of ‘I have a problem to solve’?
Two things pop up for me.
It’s all too easy to believe someone else’s energy can have a negative impact on us (done it my own self) yet it only happens if we believe this and if we allow this.
Everything is showing up simply to reveal our consciousness to us. To help us check where we are and what adjustments we could make to have the journey be a little easier, a little less bumpy.
You’re heading towards an outcome you’ve already chosen and your co-worker is simply a bump in the road, as is any other negative experience that might show up. It’s your consciousness showing you exactly where you are in that moment.
Isn’t it a fantastic system?
And now you get to choose to have an entirely new perspective on the situation…which will bring an entirely different feeling, taking you closer to the desire you have. Look upon it as your inner guidance system. Give thanks for it, be thrilled that you have the awareness to see what’s happening and choose to see your co-worker in a new light.
Not sure if I’ve exactly answered your question…but you certainly got me thinking Carole…and who knows…between us we may have inspired someone else in our community. 🙂
Thank you for the reminder that life shouldn’t be always about focusing on problems and difficulties. I find my faith really helps me to let go of those worries that can easily steal my ability to be grateful for and enjoy my life. Great post Elle. Thank you!
Thanks Carolyn for sharing how you manage to let go of worries. It’s a great reminder to us all. 🙂
Another great article, however I feel I must take umbrage with “Flow with Life, not against it”. As Mr Hightower once told me” even a dead fish can float downstream”. I would prosper that by engaging our imaginative resource we are actually flowing against the status quo of this 3D life. We are awakening to the amazing realization that through a faithfully held belief we can experience any desire as fulfilled. This earthly journey is one of transcendence and victory over not only the gravitational pull of this world but of all beliefs that do not serve us. Thank you.
Write on, Elle !
Hi Elle,
I agree that we do need to move on from our bad or negative feelings. I like your line – Feel them and move on. There is a lot of good in life, so we can do our best efforts to focus on the positive. Thanks – great post.
So true Cathy. We all have something good to turn towards mentally…and since the good things in life bring us more good things to think on…seems like the best option to me too. 🙂
Another wonderful post, Elle, and it really is, always is, the *who* we see ourselves to be that dictates our outside world, our reality.
I was ‘looking’ for work recently and instinctively wondered ‘who would that make me be?’ as I did my meditations and visualisations. It was the ‘expert’ that I realised I was, and continued to vibrate/exude. Soon I was hired and being paid handsomely. It was spooky to hear others call me an expert especially as I had never used that term myself, I was simply being it!
I absolutely *love* your attitude Alba. It’s really impressive to read about your great experiences as you see yourself experiencing better and better all the time. Kudos to you kiddo. 🙂
Elle-
Isn’t is amazing how our culture has imbedded the belief in us that we need to do ‘the work’ (not Byron Katie’s) in order to live a happy life. When I first learned that it was my emotions that were the clues to feel and listen to, it was like a whole new way of being opened up for me. I love the phrase ‘going with the flow’ – it makes life so much simpler and beautiful. All I have to do is say it to myself every time I tense up. Thanks for a beautiful post…xxoo-Fran
I like the way you think Fran. And if we listen to the flow of creation within, it’s always taking us to the greatest place possible. Thanks for sharing your insights…always terrific. 🙂
Radical Acceptance. That is the key. Pushing away thoughts makes them come back stronger where as just accepting them and sitting with them will eventually allow them to pass. Radically accept your feelings and then you can go about changing them if needed.
Welcome to the conversation Sebastian…and what a great phrase ‘radical acceptance’ I might just pinch that one of these days! 🙂
Go for it. It is a phrase I learned in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. : D I look forward to reading more of your posts.
Thanks Sebastian…will check it out. 🙂