Dr. UnStuck Podcast — Get Out of Your Head. Get Into Your Life.

So many of us are walking around out there like remote-controlled zombies, often unaware the we have been swept up in the "current of overwhelm." One minute rolls into the next, days fly by, then weeks, and then another year gone. Many of us are faced with the fear that long ago drove Thoreau into the woods, in order to live life deliberately so that, "when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Surviving and living are different. To truly live is to realize the power of intention, and to realize that we are the authors of our own life-script. When we live deliberately, we spend our life-minutes as if they were cash.

#authenticity #livedeliberately #carpediem #psychology #education #Thoreau #powerofintention #intention #lifeminutes #MIndcraft

Separating work from home has always been a healthy way to go, though never has this been as essential as it is now. Our lives have begun to seem like "Ground Hog's Day," where one day runs into the other. This has led to a blend of work and home, and a feeling that we are never truly "off." The result has been an overall fatigue, leaving many of us feeling like robots stuck in a rut, not knowing how to climb out and get our lives back.

No one likes to be uncomfortable. Not at the dentist. Not in social situations, work, or relationships. And, not with the larger curveballs life throws at us. Our instinct is to rid ourselves of this discomfort like a splinter, ignore it until it gets infected, and often to build impenetrable walls to protect ourselves from further injury. Most of us will do anything to avoid pain.  Unfortunately, these walls that we build strong and tall to protect us also keep out the good stuff, all that we need and crave for the full human experience. Only when we stop to feel our pain can we find meaning in our suffering and become stronger. Only when we can show compassion to our perfect and imperfect self can we be truly happy.

Many people sadly sign off art as being for "those creative people," without realizing its tremendous power to heal the mind. Art can help us to drop harmful defenses, heal from shame, and help us reconnect with a disconnected sense of self. By calming the limbic system, art can help reduce feelings of anxiety and depression, as well as set us free from old wounds. Art can even assist us with getting unstuck from being trapped in the "survival brain" of trauma.

Independence and freedom go hand and hand. It is therefore important for us to remain independent from the opinions of others whether they are positive or negative, and to think for ourselves,  It is all too easy to be driven by external approval and praise or even disfavor, as this often results in a need to push back. Either way, our lives become dictated by external forces. On a societal level this is not different, as when we steer away from independent and critical thinking we become less free. 

Practicing inner peace, just like anything else, involves deliberate effort. There is a Tibetan word "shenpa," which describes that sticky, very seductive feeling we often get right before we react to a criticism or anything (anyone) we don't like. Shenpa is said to be the root source of aggression and craving, that momentous feeling we get just prior to reacting which feels much like trying to hold in a sneeze.  We have to say or do whatever it is. We have to scratch the itch. At the very center of our inner peace practice is "shenpa awareness." It is in that moment that we need to sit with this seductive urge to react and look inward instead to whatever insecurity is going on inside us. Practicing patience being comfortable with the uncomfortable will increase our ability to "push the pause button" and to listen rather than react. And, peace on the inside leads to peace on the outside . . .

To savor life means to slow down and notice the details--to fully experience these in the Now. Savoring means to delight in the mundane, to embrace life's hidden treasures, and to experience pure joy in the simplest of pleasures. It is mindfulness and gratitude taken to a higher level. Savoring involves one's senses to be engaged and hyper-vigilant. To savor means to grab life by the ass and live deliberately . . .

Bringing the magic back into our relationships is much easier than it may seem. Allowing ourselves to coast along on autopilot is often largely the source of a derailed or unsatisfying relationship. These habits take on a life of their own and become stronger with each irritation we experience. Shifting into more deliberate thinking leads to more deliberate living. This brings about the awareness that what we do to others, we also do to ourselves.

With roughly 7.5 billion people in the world it is a sad reality that so many of us are walking around feeling lonely. In fact, some experts have referred to this as a "Loneliness Epidemic." The source is disconnection, which is ironic in the age of so called "connection." This feeling of alone-ness is brought about by the dissonance between the connection we need and the connection we have. Though there is no quick-fix for loneliness, there are most definitely steps we can take toward climbing out . . .

Life is not like a pizza or cake in the sense that if we take an extra piece this will take away from someone else. The abundance out there in the Universe is infinite. This means that there is no end to the good things that can land in our laps. Shifting ourselves away from the "blockers" and developing a prosperity mindset is about being open to receiving these gifts and is key to a thriving lifestyle.

#prosperity #growthmindset #abundance #prosperitymindset #authenticity #selfworth #selfawareness #psychology #education