Finally Springtime!

I love Springtime! It reminds me of new beginnings. It is amazing how some trees budding, and a sunny day can brighten our attitude. It is a perfect example of how quickly our mind changes. We experience between 50-70 thousand thoughts a day, and 80% are negative. So, how can we lock our spring thoughts in our minds when our mind’s weather isn’t cooperating?

Remaining in the present and choosing mindfulness to be more fully aware and reflective on a situation when negativity is triggered is a wonderful way to get our mind back in the right frame. Take time, pause, be silent, listen to your heart and reflect on a time when you felt totally at peace. Then refocus on that time to reframe the moment.

An effective subset of mindfulness is to create a past memory as an anchor. Most of you have heard of Pavlov’s research and his concept of stimulus response. Anchors can redefine the triggers of our states and behaviors. You can learn how to establish new triggers for selected responses that are desired. However, it takes work - reinforcement through repetition is almost always necessary. Using each of your senses with your anchoring memory hastens and locks in your new trigger.

A friend reported using her pearls to evoke greater confidence. Or, your new anchor can be a happy, confident, successful time in your life. Touch is a common anchor like touching the pearls when anxiousness arises. Another way if you don’t have the pearls on you is to bring your thumb and finger together and focus on that special time in your life.

Think about an anchor on a ship attached to some stable point to hold the ship in a certain area to keep it from floating away. That is what it can be for our mind.

If you have an emotion you wish to anchor, perhaps picture a moment of inner calm, gratitude, or an overall sense of well-being. Pause and allow yourself to sink into the moment (feel what you felt like, take in what you see and hear in that moment), and then anchor it into your sensory awareness.

Some memory experts say that anchoring a story to remember a list of items is the best way to remember them.

Anchor your own Spring season in your mind through mindfulness. Go there often!