Meditate. Meditate! MEDITATE! We are not the monkey brain.  We are not the endless stream of thought. We are the person aware of the thinking.  Just notice it. 

I was invited to share on the tenth step a while back.  I got there eventually.  

It's hard to realize I'm not quite as far along as I thought I was.  This seems to be the dance that I have with myself, assuring myself that I'm a certain distance on my path, only to realize at some future point that I am not quite there.  

Having a problem today?  Is it a problem that you couldn't have had in your past because you had bigger problems back then?  Is it a first world problem?  Is there also some positive way you could look at this? Is there still improvement?

Does it feel like life is happening to you?  Negative thinking can zap you of all energy to do better.  We must remember life is not out to get us. 

Ever try, as a parent, to help your kids be healthier?  Have they ever thanked you for that?  Or do you just get to hear all the complaining and the kids feel like they are being punished?  How do we do the "right" thing when the "wrong" thing feels so much easier?

I want quick fixes to my feelings.  The literature says that isn't any different than what I've done in my past.  It takes all the feelings to feel the whole spectrum of the world.  Let it in. 

Why do we react to our feelings with other feelings?  "Oh, I shouldn't feel this way about that."  Accepting our feelings is one of the healthiest things we can do, and, accepting our feelings is the best thing we can do if we hope to ever change that feeling.  We need to start with where we are, no matter how ugly we feel that place is.