Make the Unconscious Conscious

‎“Until you make the unconscious conscious it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”-Carl Jung

Right now, I am reading The Power of Self-Coaching:The Five Essential Steps to Creating the Life You Want by Joseph J. Luciani, Ph. D. In this book, Luciani gives the steps to stopping your negative thoughts from running wild and dominating your life.

You know what I’m talking about, when something goes wrong or you are concerned about a situation, what is the first thing you do? You worry, you create the worse scenario known to man. Sometimes they are things that couldn’t even possibly happen but your mind is so good at creating intricate stories for your viewing horror. And because that’s the way you have always thought, you go with it.

Luciani challenges the reader to stop those thoughts in their tracks. You may not be able to stop the parade of negative thoughts that trample through your mind from appearing but you don’t have to continue to let them march all over your brain.

How do you stop a negative thought?

• You have to be vigilant over your thoughts. Notice when you are letting your mind create fantastical stories about everything that can go wrong.You very well my find that you go off to the dark side a lot more times than you realized.
• Distinguish, before you work yourself into a frenzy, whether you are responding to fact or fiction. Luciani says, “…facts are verifiable, objective, and observable phenomena, while fictions are based on interpretations, judgments, and probability predictions.” Ask yourself, am I getting worked up over something that is actually an issue such as I just got fired or am I creating an issue such as my boss didn’t tell me about a meeting so that must mean he is talking about me and is about to fire me.
• Just stop it in its track. If you stop giving it attention it can’t grow. You are the only one feeding that thought. In its place, think of something that will make you smile and brings you joy. When you do this a couple times, you will realize that you have a choice of what you think. Wouldn’t that be a relief?

These are just a few points taken from the book. To get the full picture, you’d have to read it yourself. Until then, know you don’t have to continue to be a victim of your thoughts.