Do you feel like you’re losing the Race?

At some point, most of us will feel like we’re falling behind everyone else, with the mild panic and feelings of inadequacy this induces.

 

I’ve found an exercise that helps, though - one that I use at least once a month, whenever the constant nagging to be-more-and-have-more from TV and magazines starts to leak into my psyche.

 

Your little legs can't keep up?

If you imagine how you’re feeling at the moment, would it be something like being on a 800-metre race, and you’re flagging, your little legs just not keeping you up with the other runners, who are inexorably pulling ahead?  And how much fun is that?

 

A Day in the Park

So, here is the simple reframing exercise:

You are in a park, your favourite one.  You are wandering around, looking at the lake, admiring the rhododendrons, and sitting daydreaming on a sunny bench.  No-one told you when to arrive, and you will decide when to leave. 

 

If you spend too long feeding the ducks, no-one is worried.  If you get lost in the bushes and come out somewhere else entirely, no-one is going to care.  You lose no points for slipping over in the mud and muckying your trousers.  You can do as much or as little in the park as you like. 

 

Should you leave most of it unexplored, and just return again and again to the swings, that’s your choice.

 

This is your walk in the park, it’s for fun, and you get no extra points for doing it well.

 

Back to the Race

If you return to your Race frame again, how does that feel in terms of pressure? What will be the difference in decisions that you make from each frame? Me, I'll be back in the park- maybe I'll see you there!

 

Penelope Else

Freer Mind