September 8: Bad Days

Imagine if we all worked at improving our mindset, as much as professional bodybuilders worked on their muscles!  To become bigger, stronger, wiser, more experienced, and better at a skill, we must exhaust ourselves, tearing muscles apart, killing off weaker cells, then rest and recover, to allow for regrowth into a higher level.  The mind works in exactly the same way.

“I have bad days.  But that’s okay. I used to have bad years.” -Anonymous

In Melody Beatties’s book, “The Language of Letting Go,” she writes:

Sometimes, the old feelings creep back in.  We may feel fearful, ashamed, and hopeless.  We may feel not good enough, unlovable, victimized, helpless, and resentful about it all.  This is codependency, a condition some describe as “soul-sickness.”

A return to the old feelings doesn’t mean we’re back to square one in our recovery.  They do not mean we’ve failed at recovery.  They do not mean we’re in for a long, painful session of feeling badly.  They just are there.

Sometimes we get triggered.

One time, I was triggered at work.  My body was in so much pain that my mind went dark.  It went dark fast!  It was unexpected and terrifying.  After 15 years of complete darkness, hopelessness, medications, and suicidal ideation on a daily basis, as well as a handful of suicide attempts, I then made changes that resulted in a four-year stretch of much-needed relief with NO thoughts of ending my life or overwhelming feelings of hopelessness.  For that four years I implemented some basic, daily changes, stopped taking all prescribed medications (lithium and antidepressants,) added an effective, extremely helpful routine, and altered my mindset.  It was like being pulled out of the depths of hell and invited to dinner in heaven, then being asked to stay for dessert.

When I experienced this outer, physical pain, due to inflammation in my back, brain and body, and my mind went dark, I became incredibly scared.  All kinds of old thoughts flew through my mind.  All those old thoughts I had for 15 years started to come back:  “What if that old darkness is back to stay?  What if I’m in pain like this every day from now on and I can’t work anymore?  How will I contribute to the household bills?  What kind of husband and father will I be if I can’t even do that?  What if my wife doesn’t want me anymore?  What if I lose my house and my kids and nobody wants me around?”

This self-torture went on for hours.  I shut down, became exhausted, and crawled inside my mind for the entire rest of my work day, until I drove home with my wife from work and went straight to the bedroom to hurl myself into bed and sleep, to escape the pain, at 3:30 in the afternoon.  I didn’t want to tell her, or anyone else, that this had happened.  I was terrified that the darkness was back for good.  I felt ashamed and hopeless.

I woke up from the nap.  I was pain-free, rejuvenated, and back to my new, normal self I had been experiencing for that last four years.  The heavy blanket of darkness was gone.  Years ago, it would have stuck around.  It literally would have taken me months to recover from this negative thinking pattern.  In this new life and new environment of bright lights I had created in my mind through new thoughts, perspectives, beliefs and new habits which I had worked extremely hard to implement, the darkness was too uncomfortable to stick around.  I was elated!  I was so grateful for the new habits and the incredibly helpful routine I had been sticking to.

Periodically, I experience inflammation and extreme physical pain.  This tends to result in a general inability to remain positive, and a much lower level of willpower.  When my body is in pain, I tend to vibrate at a much lower frequency, but I am no longer afraid of the darkness and the pain.  Now, I embrace it, feel it, and know that it will not last forever.

This experience reminds me of the importance of sticking to my routine and remaining consistent:  Reading favorite quotes, practicing gratitude, eating better and taking some great supplements, daily exercise, positive affirmations, reviewing my goals, listening to inspirational messages, living the golden rule, being present with others, DAILY visualization and meditation, spending quality time with loved ones, and researching mentors to follow as role models had all paid off in spades.  Doing these things daily had empowered me to create a new life full of brightness in which darkness has no place and can no longer reside.

THE BAD DAYS ARE THE GOOD DAYS BECAUSE EVERY DAY IS GOOD.

I realized that dark days will still happen.  It doesn’t mean the darkness is going to stay.

I still have bad days.  But that’s okay. I used to have bad years.

We are not alone.  We are not the only ones feeling the way we feel.  We are all in this life together to empower, uplift, inspire, influence and motivate one another.

Today I will accept myself and where I am in my life.  I will remind myself that I am exactly where I need to be, and who I need to be, for today.  I will remember that I am okay and that everything will be okay, even if it doesn’t seem like it right this second.  I will keep pushing forward.  I will keep doing my best.  I will consistently do my best, whatever that is for today, knowing that as I do, my best will consistently get better.  I am a work in progress, and I always will be.  I am a diamond in the rough, but I am a diamond!

If you experience physical pain, like I used to constantly, every single day, there are incredibly effective ways to physically, chemically, nutritionally, and hormonally heal, and live a better, higher quality lifestyle, with more energy, vitality, and much less physical pain.  I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease at a young age, and for years, it owned me.  I researched things to do to heal from this, and hope that if you suffer from back pain, that you will also look into some of the things I found and implemented into a daily routine, and try them for yourself.  Here are the tools that have helped me the most:

Degenerative Disc Disease

Much of what I have learned about physical healing has come from the host and guests of the YouTube shows, IMPACT THEORY, and HEALTH THEORY.  I am also a massage therapist, have participated in years of physical therapy, and am an advocate for yoga, meditation, and daily exercise, be it two minutes, or two hours.  A body that is in motion, stays in motion, and a body in a state of rest, stays in a state of rest.  The mind works the exact same way.

If you are experiencing mental and emotional anguish, like I did for so many years, there are ways to heal from that, as well.  If you really want to stop suffering, your thoughts, words, and actions will change to reflect that commitment.  I promise you it is possible.  If it is possible for me, it is possible for ANYONE.  You are not alone in your pain and your suffering.  Keep going.  Your best is yet to come.  The key is in repetition, consistency, and daily practice of EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT FOR YOURSELF.  If you are able to look into your future, and visualize exactly who and where you want to be in five or ten years, and do this daily until you feel the feeling you will feel when you are healed and well, it will happen.  We cannot BE what we cannot SEE.  There is extreme strength and healing that comes through the practices of visualization and meditation.  What have you got to lose?

When we bombard our brains with the content of those we most want to be like, model, and emulate, we begin to create and inner environment that sends off an electrical charge in waves of vibrational frequencies that return that same energy back to us, exponentially.  This sends power to our physical bodies and brains in the form of usable energy, and this fuels us to act in a physical manner which is in alignment with the inner world we are creating.

Higher thoughts = Higher vibrational frequencies

Higher vibrational frequencies = Attraction of MORE of these higher vibrational frequencies

Attraction of MORE of these higher vibrational frequencies = Power and energy converted into an awareness of expanded ENERGY capabilities for the physical body

Power and energy converted into ENERGY for the physical body = An energetically, quickened, altered physical, chemical, and hormonal state

An energetically, quickened, altered physical, chemical, and hormonal state = Fuel to DO MORE and CREATE MORE

Fuel to DO MORE and CREATE MORE = A physical reality that unfolds, flows effortlessly, and easily aligns with the inner world we envision and create

A physical reality that unfolds, flows effortlessly, and easily aligns with the inner world we envision and create = Constant and continual progress, growth, improvements, and evolution

Constant and continual progress, growth, improvements, and evolution = HAPPINESS.  JOY.  FEELING OF CONTENTMENT, FULFILLMENT, AND INNER PEACE.

Every thought is a creation.  Every word is a creation.  Every action we take is a creation.  MAKE THESE CREATIONS COUNT.

Einstein taught that the eighth wonder of the world is compounding interest.  He wasn’t just talking about money.  He was speaking about something MUCH more valuable:  ENERGY.

Consistency, practice, and repetition, build momentum.  With this compounding momentum, there are no limits…

PAIN is inevitable and necessary, but it is also a useful tool.  Suffering is optional.

P – presence

A – awareness

I – insight

N – new thoughts, words, actions, and outcomes

-Jesse Elder

“How you decide to think about something will determine how you feel about that thing.  HOW YOU THINK WILL ALWAYS DETERMINE HOW YOU FEEL.” – Brooke Castillo

-We are capable of choosing our thought, and the exact content we wish to focus on throughout the day.  Distractions may bombard us, outward storms may arise to conspire against us, pain may consistently pelt us with its wicked blows, but our inner world is OUR responsibility and choice.  This ONE thing is something we DO have control over, and it is a daily practice.

Reminder to self:  EXPERIMENT WITH NEW EXPERIENCES.  The truth will manifest itself along the way-for now, seek our new tools of usefulness and effectiveness, things that actually work for you-in your favor, and on your behalf.

Lean into the uncomfortable.   Become comfortable with the uncomfortable.  Seek out change. THIS is what will benefit you the most in life.  Replace your old belief that change sucks and that it is painful, and immediately replace it with the thought that change may be EXACTLY what you have been needing to push you over the walls of fear and doubt that have been holding you back from all that you want and deserve.

Remember:  A body in motion stays in motion.  A body at rest stays at rest.  The mind works the same way!

Someday, you will also realize that your pain has been the greatest tool, and amongst the greatest blessings of your life.  You will look back, and be grateful for ALL OF IT.  You will realize, and know from that point on, that the Universe has been conspiring on your behalf, all along, and will continue to for the eternities to come.  All that has happened, all that is happening now, and all that will ever happen, is FOR you.

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Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.