Problems: Backpack or Bookshelf?
Imagine your problems are like books. You fill up pages of information and believe all sorts of things but don’t ever question their validity or try to make sense of them. Every day you put on an imaginary backpack, stuff those books or problems inside the backpack, ignore them and carry on. They are heavy. They bother you but you rarely pull them out to take a look. Carrying the backpack becomes a problem in and of itself because eventually it gets—full. The load becomes too unbearable and something has to give. Your kids leave their dirty socks on the floor (for the 100th time) and you lose it. Watch out, here comes the Mount Saint Helens Mom! You go from 0 to 10 over socks. You start hurling out all of the books as fast as you can.
Instead of carrying a backpack, what if you lined those books or problems up on shelves in your mind. Imagine a library. Think, Beauty and the Beast or Pride and Prejudice type of library! There are hundreds of books lining the shelves in this welcoming room. It’s inviting and you are more than willing to go there. A book will naturally unfold in your everyday life and you choose to keep it wide open and learn. It’s uncomfortable but you are willing to be present with your problem and learn from it. You are honest with yourself about what you are thinking and feeling, always questioning the story and whether it’s what you want to believe.
Like most books, you won’t complete or figure out the entire story in one day and that’s OK. Put an imaginary bookmark in the book and place it on your mental shelf. It’s tucked away (not hidden) and ready to be examined and studied later. You pull it off the shelf when issues arise but you no longer carry it day in, day out.
You don’t need to stuff your problems in a backpack and put your head down. It’s possible to face them. The truth is, you throw it in the backpack hoping to avoid some pain and discomfort but you are fooling yourself because the pain is always there, nagging and reminding you all day and then it often comes out in a big mess. Eventually, if you read a book (or series of books) long enough—you’ll get to the end. It will resolve. You can work through a problem instead of dumping and stuffing. Which book are you willing to open up and learn from today?
If you are wondering how to put this into action, join me every 1st Saturday of the month for my free class- “How To Break Down ANY Problem.” Click on Work With Me, scroll to the bottom and sign up. See you soon!