Take inspiration anywhere you find it. Mine came from a Facebook meme this morning and while that’s somewhat odd, a lot of what speaks to me is. I expect to be inspired multiple times daily. It’s a benefit of living consciously and of being mindfully optimistic. If one chooses to live artistically, the world is an interactive painting and every person in it is a muse.
Today’s meme – “If things are going to get better; you have to think better.”
This has been at the forefront of my thoughts all day. How does one think better? How does one think about thinking better? Maybe this is just another mind f@ck for my ego to play with? I considered:
Critical thinking skills allow one to question everything they are told/were taught.
innovative thinking allows one to find a way where none exists but is sorely needed.
Thinking creatively allows one to create what we wish to see in the world.
It seemed to me that we think better when we utilize multidimensional perspectives or incorporate seemingly opposing paradigms. Then I thought that we think better when we attain clarity through meditation, yoga, or prayer. I’m sure we think better when we’re less inhibited, as I believe we won’t find the answers we fear.
I was starting to think that I think too much when it came to me – I think best when I don’t think at all.
For all that my 100mph ADHD rattled brain can conjure…it does not measure up to what I know intuitively. Getting out of my head and into my gut simplifies things tremendously and allows me to sense what’s real and what isn’t.
The challenge is to accept what I know and not analyze it, rationalize it, or minimize it. These are unhealthy forms of thinking and they muddy the very waters I want clear.
I’ve learned countless times that the truth is the truth regardless of how I feel about it. My heart hates being powerless and can convince me to devote countless hours of searching for ways not to be powerless. My feelings are important but they are to be identified, expressed and addressed. I cannot insist that my emotions make sense but I can insist that they not hinder me.
Intuitively knowing allows me to see a course of action that is neither intellectual nor emotional. It simply is. This allows me to do as my friends in AA advise, “Get out of the problem and get into the solution.” My desire for things to be different than what they are does not change them. I have the option of separating what I can change from what I cannot. The latter I accept as it is and the former becomes something that I need to change (most often this means changing my attitude, my perspective, and/or my behavior).
I move more gracefully toward acceptance and change when I am able to get my head, heart, and gut on the same page. When I am mindful, I do not allow self doubt to hinder me. Instead I involve trusted others. I think aloud seeking challenges and feedback. I don’t seek advice – advice is either what you ask for when you already know the answers and don’t like them or it’s a half assed way of asking for reassurance. I require trusted other to hold me accountable and to help me resolve my inner conflicts. In this way I come to develop conviction – solid determination that gives me confidence moving forward.
It seems my best thinking is not done alone. Two heads aren’t just better than one- they’re exponentially better.
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