Two Self-Inflicted Sufferings

I was at a conference several years ago. This one speaker came out on stage and started by saying that he recently learned about two self-inflicted sufferings we bring upon ourselves. I was intrigued. He then proceed to share them with us. They are our constant obsession about the future and our constant comparison to others.

I was blown away by the simplicity and how very true they are. When you are feeling stressed out, stop to think for a moment. Is your stress self-inflicted based on these two concepts? I have done this little exercise countless times over the years and realized how much I was beating myself up based on these two concepts. Can you relate to them? How would your life be different if you become fully aware of these and choose more wisely in the moment when it was happening?

Let us take a closer look at these to see if we can understand them better.

The first one is our constant obsession about the future. Where are you? Going through your average day, how present are you from moment to moment? Are you present and focused on the task or is your mind worrying about a project deadline, meeting or just somewhere else? I struggle with this one but I am very conscious of it. That is a personal daily goal I have for myself. I strive to be 100% present in the moment, all day long. When I can successfully do this, I have lots of energy at the end of the day. This is one way I measure my success. If I did a bad job of being present, I am exhausted at the end of the day. Try it for yourself and see how you do with it?

The second one is our constant comparison to others. Again, this is another great way to beat ourselves up. Do you compare yourself to someone else? Either, with the way they look, how their business is doing, the house or car that they have the amount of peace in their life or just how put together they are. Life is a journey and a process of becoming more. You are exactly where you are supposed to be. As long as you are continuing to work on yourself and striving to become better then you were yesterday, you will get there. Remember, a flower blossoms when a flower is ready, and not before it is ready. Moreover, when a flower blossoms, the flower does not ask other flowers to smell its scent or comment how beautiful it is. A flower is a standalone thing and blossom simply because it can. Being who you are, having the strength and courage to be you and make your mark on the world is what you are here for. You need to be you because there is no one else like you.

Your mind a very powerful thing, and so are your thoughts. Thoughts become things so choose them wisely. I hope this helps you on your journey.