It’s Mindset Reset Time -3 Steps to Perform A Check Up From the Neck Up

By Erika Fehrenbach Prell

So, 2020 hasn’t exactly been what you were expecting or planned. You had goals and dreams and this was the year that BIG things were going to happen. Then, Coronaville, the evil stepsister to the fun and happiness land of Margaritaville, happened and everything was derailed. I was going to go on longer but I can’t even handle how whiney this sounds in writing! 

DreamChaser, it’s time for some tough love with a check up from the neck up, as in, let’s do a thorough mindset reset, flush the negative and get back on the positive train!!
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First, let’s acknowledge the reality. Yup, this year has pretty much sucked. There really isn’t any other way to say it. I am willing to bet, however, that there were some really awesome things that happened in there, things that may not have happened if it wasn’t for Coronaville happening. Even if it is merely that you no longer take the small things for granted...hello? That is a huge life lesson to live by in the future! This is the kind of epiphany people get after a near death experience or the unexpected loss of a loved one or triumphing a medical diagnosis. Thanks, Coronaville, for a BIG lesson without the scary life event.

Read on for 3 Steps to Perform A Check Up from the Neck Up!

Step 1 - Get It All Out
Seriously, stop right now. Grab a piece of paper. Take 5 minutes to write down everything that sucked this year. Everything that happened that was disappointing or frustrating or awful or horrible. They can be as small as missing lunch dates with your kids at school to something big like how your job has been affected. The point is to get it out on paper! Why? In my recent discussions with friends, I noticed a common trend. More than ever before, people are hesitant to complain about something or state their frustration because there are worse things going on. Yes, the disappointment I feel about my travel plans being canceled pale in comparison to someone’s house burning down in a California wildfire. But, disappointment is disappointment, and we all need to just let it out and not bottle it up. 

Step 2 - Find the Good 
Feel better to get that out? Here’s the fun part! This will be a 2 part process. First, write down all the good things that have happened this year. Then, take that disappointment list, and let’s Flip the Script on it! For every rotten thing you wrote down, I want you to find something good in it...a lesson, a tip, a funny memory in the making...anything that flips it from the negative to the positive. I never said the check up was going to be easy, DreamChaser...good things take effort! Why is this important? Finding the blessings in the stressings is the best and nearly only way to build resilience. Your resiliency muscle helps you have a rubber butt so you can bounce back up better, faster, and with less pain the next time you get knocked down.

Feeling that mindset shift? Your mood elevate? Those, DreamChasers, are endorphins surging through your body; these happiness chemicals elevate your mood amongst other health benefits. Want to do this every day? All you have to do is practice gratitude! (Spoiler, you are literally doing that right this moment. Tricked ya’!) Maybe your list of the good wasn’t so long...or, perhaps, it was longer than you expected. The length of your list doesn’t matter; you receive the benefits of gratitude regardless! Seriously, it is that simple to bring good vibes into your life.

You are in the home stretch...here comes the final step!

Step 3 - Keep the Perspective
How do you feel? This assessment should help you put this season into perspective. Life is full of times when things do not work out the way you planned. Yes, this may have been a bit more abrupt and drastic than other times, to say the least, but now you won’t miss the important lesson. Learning to find the good in every day and flipping the script on bad situations will serve you well when this season, this Coronaville chapter, is finally closed. Because, it will close. You have the unique opportunity to come out of this a stronger, more grateful, resilient version of yourself, but only if you choose to do so and believe it can happen.

This is the final piece of your check up from the neck up. You are the controller of your beliefs, your choices, your mindset. This Coronaville season is happening to you; this is OUT of your control. How you react and choose to come out of this is IN your control. YOU get to choose if you see the good or the bad, see the blessings or the stressings, stay the same or grow to be better.

It’s YOUR choice. Choose wisely.

Shine on!

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