There is Always a Next Action
By Leslie Sann
If you don’t like where you are looking,look someplace else.~ John Morton
Sometimes, my mind won’t stop fretting about something going wrong. When I watch it like a movie, which I am growing more skilled at, I see it as a melodrama: Oh No, I’m not going to make it; this is surely my demise. It’s amusing when I see it as a show.
Yet, no matter the self-talk, I eventually win. Hmmmm. Isn’t that interesting?
I became aware of this background chatter while playing solitaire on my phone. I enjoy this particular game because I can reshuffle the hand as many times as I want, and eventually, if I keep at it, I win. I keep taking action and trying yet another strategy. Perhaps if I move these cards first, hmmm. If I keep on keepin’ on, I win, thus showing my mind it is a liar. All it’s yapping about there is no way to win is just blah, blah, blah. Experience shows I win if I persevere.
It’s amazing that a simple brain-quieting game has taught me so much. I found myself on the way to the airport in unexpected and unplanned traffic. I noticed my thinking wasn’t pretty, especially the fretting thoughts about what would happen if I didn’t get there in time to check my bags. My mind did what it did while I kept driving, making time where I could, still in action. I ended up at my gate with plenty of time.
If I observe myself, I always win because I don’t give up. I am in action. There is always a next and a next. Even if I had missed my plane, which I did not, I knew I would figure out another action to take to get me to where I was going. There is always a next action.
I don’t have to believe this thought or that one, either. If a thought creates stress and contraction, I can design a different thought to serve me better. I can acknowledge that life is happening other than I planned, and things might not turn out as I imagined. I can focus on the next action, knowing it’s like me to figure it out—and win.
A favorite saying of mine is, If you don’t like what you’re looking at, look somewhere else. We have choice. We can look for what is missing, where we messed up, and how life is against us, or we can change our focus and look someplace else! Choice creates. What if I noticed my commitment to action, my ability to preserve, and the fortitude and creativity of my expression? Which focus would serve me in living a joyful, happy life?
Blessings and Joy,
