Self-Doubt · · 3 min read
Big Changes Small Moments
We’ve all heard the saying ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’.
How does that relate to the mind?
If you’ve ever been prone to self-consciousness you will have noticed the tiny thoughts that pop in to your mind when you’ve just done something wrong or are about to do something.
The thought that worries about what other people will think or if people are judging you.
Quite often we hear those and unknowingly we give our attention to them without even realising it which then makes it far more likely those thoughts will be the start of the mental loop that ends up affecting our actions.
• Lowering the intensity of a workout
• Stopping you from sharing something important
• Stopping you from connecting more deeply with someone else in a moment of kindness
• Stopping you from spontaneously enjoying a moment that just presented itself
Sometimes it’s even a thought that momentarily diminishes you…
“You’re terrible at this”
These micro moments don’t seem big, but compile them day after day and they build.
Perhaps you have a goal, these micro thoughts act as obstacles and speed bumps and diversions - slowing you from getting to where you intended to go.
Sometimes we often give up and go another direction. I’ve done that most of my life.
Since I’ve started becoming more familiar with noticing my thoughts and feelings and not feeding them - things are changing.
They don’t seem to build in the same way.
• I recognise distractions more frequently and can return to the exercise I was performing with more focus and more intensity.
• I noticed when the voice of worry about an opinion arises and can choose to still share what’s important to me (case in point right here).
• I notice the self-conscious egoic thoughts that might have held me back from doing something nice for my wife in public.
• I notice the small moments where a thought worries about what people will think if I do something fun in the spur of the moment.
And I’m noticing the thoughts that appear to tear me down when I haven’t done something well. These alone have been some of the most profoundly impactful for me.
Releasing those by not feeding them has been a big relief for me.
Not doing it perfectly all the time, but becoming more and more familiar with noticing every day and in every moment.
Each moment - small, undetectable to others, but building connections and a path that adds another step on the journey of 1000 miles.
If this brings to mind one of those small moments in your own life, I’d love to hear about it. You’re welcome to leave a comment or reach out and connect. I’m interested in what people notice when they begin paying attention to these moments.
Notice it… don’t feed it.