I am happy to introduce a special guest blogger. Her name is Michelle Rouse Fox. Michelle has an amazing outlook on life due to her experiences and expertise. She is a speaker, emotional consultant, a wife and a mommy of 4. That is why we are excited to hear some of her strategies on how we can optimize our mindset and gain mental freedom.
With that said… Michelle Rouse Fox ladies and gentleman…
Let me tell you a little something about myself, when I wake up (most days) I am a happy, joyful person. I’m excited about the day and what I am going to get accomplished and all the possibilities. And if it’s Friday…watch out cause I might just explode, I LOVE FRIDAYS simply because of the beautiful options that this one day creates out in front of the weekend!
But back to my happy morning self and me. From the time I wake up, I can most likely wrangle you out of your wrong side of the bed attitude. I can motivate you to run a half marathon if that’s your thing, I can get you up and out and probably get you to be mostly happy about it…oh, you think I’m gonna go with you…nope, I said I was happy not a crazy person. If you are out of coffee in the morning and need a pick-me-up…look no further, I’m your girl!
I’m a natural motivator
Now don’t be going and thinking I’m that annoying person who is singing show tunes at 6 am. I assure you that I am not. When I say, I can pump you up and motivate you, what I mean is that I find it super easy to be positive and to control what thoughts I’m gonna allow thru the vortex of my heart and I’m in control of my mindful contemplations. I find it easy to pray and meditate. I also really love my children dearly during these hours of the day! I find that it’s a breeze to like pretty much everyone, even grumpy McMonsters who obviously aren’t morning people and find life in general difficult, these people are like a hot blueberry muffin to me, I love them! They are my challenge…I WILL get a smile out of them, or I WILL be sunshine in their dreary day.
Here’s the thing though, around 1:30 on most days I’m like the pumpkin carriage in the Cinderella story…my wheels fall off, and my mind and spirit plop to the ground with a thud and I’m basically useless to anyone and especially myself. I have tried numerous ways to avoid the dreaded afternoon slump.
So if say something really annoying takes place like …oh, I dunno…dealing with my cell phone company over an issue they promised to fix at least 18 times then my abilities to “deal” are not just gone, but it’s like another being comes into my body to control the situation and by this I mean Samuel L.Jackson comes in and takes over. Yep! That is who takes the wheel…Jesus is NOWHERE to be seen. Maybe this doesn’t seem like a big deal to you, perhaps you love all of Samuel L.Jackson’s characters because he gets ish done.
Mindset
Well the problem for me is that on days when all my tires fall off, and I’ve hit a roadside bomb, I struggle to regain my footing for the rest of the day and sometimes into the night. Can you relate to any of this? Maybe not the happy and motivated morning person but the part where something turns your day or mood sideways, and you find it hard to turn around, to find solid footing? If yes, then you’re in luck, so keep reading!
The challenge for us mere humans is that we tend to follow the herd or conform to our present culture. Culture can be most anything that has an impact on our mindset…environment, conditioning, exposure. But think about it, if our environment that we believe will bring us peace of mind is zoning out and binge-watching the Kardashians for hours and hours, then this is what we are prone to do to cope. Or, if we have conditioned ourselves to consume a pint of ice cream whenever we feel stressed or painful emotions, then why should we be surprised when there’s an empty pint sitting on the coffee table in the morning?
How could we possibly create effective change in our mind by meditating on positive thoughts if all we expose ourselves to ourselves is negatives, like people or T.V.? So what’s the answer? How do we stop being “cow-like”? I’m so glad you asked!
RENEW your mind! Renew means to change. We have to make a change. We all know that this is easier said than done, but IT CAN BE DONE! This is something that I have been working on for a long time, and I can tell you that it takes more discipline than any physical achievement or regimen that we might put our bodies through. Disciplining our mind takes a determined effort. However, the pay off is unending!
We always have a choice
Of course, we are gonna hit our funks, and we are going to get pushed off our game. There are going to be days chock full of horescrappery…absolutely. But listen up friends…as long as we have breath in our lungs we have a choice. We ALWAYS have a choice. You get to decide if you are going to let your mind conform to its culture or if you are going to take the reigns and be in charge like a BOSS and tell your mind what you are going to think about you, your situation, outcomes, and most importantly, your choices.
At first and even sometimes this could take all afternoon (as is my case occasionally) and into the night. However, you must refuse to let your mind conform to its culture and bring it into another day! Absolutely refuse…when we resist it means that we are exerting our choice. So refuse, DECIDE to make that choice that you will absolutely not allow yourself to carry this into the next day. Period.
When you feel yourself spiraling out of control with emotions that aren’t healthy or productive, DECIDE. WIll you take control or does your mind get to take you on a not so fun joy ride like a toddler at the helm of speedboat? I promise you, if you just decide to DECIDE to change your mind, all the right things will follow.
For more information about Michelle Rouse Fox or to read more of her articles, follow this link: https://www.michellerousefox.com/foxy-talks/change-your-mind-again-and-again
