Creating Instead Of Reacting
Just a quick thought on a simple but powerful mindset shift. In fast paced modern life it’s easy to become overwhelmed with too many things to take care of and find ourselves existing in a state of reacting to everything happening around us. But constant reaction puts us on our heels and drives stress and feeling out of control. It also separates us from our innate power to create the life we experience. Lately I’ve been mindful that I’m creating instead of reacting. And the fact that the word “create” includes all of the letters of the word “react” struck me as interesting. Just like rearranging letters, we can rearrange our mindset.
A mental state of creation puts me back in the driver seat and centers me back into my sense of personal power. I feel more grateful, less stressed out, and more excited about the future I can decide to forge for myself. That alone makes it worth it.
For me, the act of creating is a combination of taking action and taking time to envision the life I want to live. Both are empowering, and envisioning gives me ideas to act on. These are the opposite of simply reacting to outside circumstances in a state of stress, survival and uncertainty. They’re deliberate forward movement.
Creating also involves a measure of surrender to a greater intelligence and knowing I’m not alone in my efforts. That may sound counter intuitive in the context of an article about taking control back from outside forces. But I’m trusting that what I put out will return to me. I can’t help but sense a greater power when I see the world and the miracle of life. A power that is constantly creating, and that reflects our intentions back to us. So I’m putting out gratitude for the life I have, warts and all, and the life I will experience in days to come. Gratitude is a state of having received blessings, but there’s no reason we can’t experience gratitude in advance of receiving blessings to come. All it takes is imagination, and in my own experience it brings more of what I envision into reality.
And I figure living in gratitude is a no lose decision anyway. At the very least it’s a great frame of mind for being healthier and enjoying life. So even for those who aren’t metaphysically inclined, there’s always that.
Simple But Not Easy
This is a seemingly straight forward change to make, but it takes copious amounts of attention to maintain it. The human mind can be an unruly beast to tame. Meditation helps. And vigilant awareness.
It’s common to slip back into autopilot and become reactive again when life gets crazy. Sometimes it’s like we’re juggling too many balls. But it’s a matter of being conscious of our state of mind and going back into the realm of creation whenever we catch ourselves reacting. Let the balls that are rubber hit the floor, and put more focused intention on the ones that are glass.
It can be life changing and profound if one practices regularly. It takes about two months to form a new habit, so set an hourly reminder on your phone if necessary. Put sticky notes on your mirror and steering wheel. Ask your friends or family to remind you. Doesn’t have to be overly complicated, but by being diligent for a couple of months and staying focused we can all develop a new mindset that allows us to become happier, healthier, and more grounded in the vision and reality we choose for ourselves.