I was working on my book on Stress at Work and Money but the program I use started to malfunction, I was constantly having problems, the usual functions failed, the program frequently closed and then I could no longer open it. This caused me frustration, I could not move forward as I wished, everything became increasingly difficult and heavy. I decided to take my computer to the technical service and at first glance, everything was fine, there were no viruses or anything to explain this strange operation. They told me they would need to do a more in-depth review, so I left it. Then they explained to me that when they analyzed it with a special program, they discovered several viruses that were "hidden" and that were not visible to the naked eye. This is what made the program work so badly.
Curiously, this closely resembles real life. I can see how many times I want to move forward with something I have in mind and for some reason I don't move forward as I would like, I don't do the things I plan to do, and I get frustrated. For example, while writing my book sometimes thoughts appear that tell me that people may not be interested in what I have to say, that it is very difficult to write and I will never finish it… When these thoughts appear I feel unmotivated and therefore without even I realize I am postponing it or it is difficult for me to move forward.
Does it sound familiar to you? Has it happened to you that you have a goal, whether it is related to a project, a business, or you want to apply for a job or study for an exam but suddenly thoughts appear that tell you that you will not achieve it, that it will be very difficult, why even try if it won't go well? And have you noticed how these thoughts make you feel? How do they paralyze you, discourage you, make you lose initiative and lower your productivity?
The solution with my computer was to take it to the technical service and let them not only identify the viruses I had, but also eliminate them, so that it could work efficiently. Now it works well again, goes fast and does what it has to do…
It is the same in our lives, when we have a goal and we see that everything is going uphill, it is good to delve into what at first glance we do not see, and that is what a good antivirus is for. A program that allows us to identify the beliefs or thoughts that are hanging around our head at that moment and that discourage, frighten and paralyze us, and once identified, cleanse our minds of these beliefs in order to move forward free and motivated.
The next time you want to advance with some objective, project, work, study, etc. and you see that it is very difficult for you, or that you find it difficult to take action and you put it off, identify the “virus” that is hidden, asking yourself : What is stopping you from doing what you want to do? ,
What discourages you from taking action? Make a list and then use a good antivirus that allows you to remove them. The one I use and recommend to you are four simple questions devised by Byron Katie that you can use to question every belief. For example, if the limiting thought is "It's hard to delegate," you can challenge it by asking yourself the following questions:
- It is true? Is it true that "it is difficult to delegate"? Answer with a simple yes or no. (If you answered “no” go to question 3.) Can you know that it is true with absolute certainty? Can you know that it is true with absolute certainty that it is difficult to delegate? Again, answer only with a yes or no. How do you feel and act when you have that thought? How do you feel and act when you think it is difficult to delegate and your earrings accumulate? You probably discard delegating and therefore keep piling up more and more work. You feel stressed, overwhelmed by the earrings, with no way out, you start to hate your job and you load more and more of it. You are in a bad mood, you cannot enjoy what you do.How would you feel and act if you didn't have that thought? If you did not have in your mind the belief that it is difficult to delegate? Surely you would open yourself to that possibility, you would be more motivated to do it, you would have more energy to find the right people and prepare them. That surely generates more possibilities, more peace.
Now and after applying the questions, invert the stressful belief to the opposite and look for at least 3 real examples of how the opposite can be as true or more.
For example, the opposite of "It is very difficult to delegate" would be "It is very easy to delegate" and the examples could be: 1) that there are things that other people know and can do better than you and finding them in the long run will be a great relief for you. 2) It is easy when you see that there are other people who enjoy doing what you do not like or find it difficult to do. 3) it is easy when you start to trust other people's ability to do a good job 4) it is easy when you see the amount of work that will be taken from you so that you can focus on what is a priority for you. Think about the real examples of how it can be easy to delegate, help your mind to see new alternatives for what until now seems like a problem.
Question each of these stressful thoughts with those questions until you feel free of them. If you find viruses on your computer, you don't want to keep them knowing how difficult it will be to work like this, right? The same in our life, if you see that there are beliefs and thoughts that affect you negatively and hinder your work, would you not want to get rid of them?
Can you imagine what our lives would be like if we had the ability to let go of those thoughts that limit and paralyze us? What if we did what is in our hearts and that no fear or pessimism got in the way? Surely we would feel much more free and agile, we would move forward decisively and without hesitation, doing what we feel at every moment, motivated and enjoying the journey…
