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Mapping your Mental TerrainHats off on identifying an area in your life that you want to improve. Our first step is to think of the life situations where your focus area starts to show up and throw you off.
It’s all fun and games until that “easy” deck repair turns into an engineering degree, a weekend lost, and you let something slip that puts you in the dog house.
Common Questions
Life impacts everyone differently. Take some time to reflect on what happens in your daily life by asking a few questions:
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Are there specific individuals, comments people make, or memories that leave you feeling pissed off, annoyed, etc?
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Do certain locations, like crowded spaces, your workplace, or sitting in traffic that frequently cause stress, anger, or other weird responses?
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Are there particular times, like Monday mornings or late evenings, when you feel especially on edge, anxious, etc?
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When the tough stuff pops up, what is the situation usually like? What are the common signs in those moments?
For now, list anything that comes up. Recognizing it is most important and then we can decide how significant it might be later. This recon will give you the intel you need to plan your approach.
Still feeling stuck? Try asking a trusted friend or loved one for an outside perspective. Maybe they can see something you can’t.
Good question. Whether the things you’re thinking about seem too big or too trivial, there’s no harm identifying them. Sometimes little things can build up into big things, so shining a light on them can go along way to helping you identify when you might find yourself in a hairy situation. Similarly, if something feels too big, ignoring the 800lb. gorilla on your back isn’t going to make it go away. Every journey starts the same way, whether it’s Odysseus in the Iliad or getting mail from the mailbox. One small step. Repeat.
So yes, Big or small, Your actions matter and will make a difference.
Great question! A bad day is when things go sideways - a flat tire, you spill coffee on your shirt, your toddler pukes in the car. When you might just be irritated or doing the old deep sigh. A bad reaction, on the other hand, is something deeper. Maybe you overreact, like an involuntary knee-jerk, and all of the sudden something out of character happens. Whether you shut-down completely, do something you know you shouldn't, or use some not so kind words; the key is that afterwards you're thinking, “where the hell did that come from?” That's your brain reverting to some old survival stuff, not just one day's nonsense.