Look out for mind gremlins!

I’d like to share something personal with you, in the hope that if it resonates, you can find the solution a little quicker than I could!

At the start of the week, I found myself angry about a few things, and felt really quite fed up with Covid-19’s isolation impact on my business, and my life. I later discovered, through conversations with other business owners, I wasn’t the only one, hence the guidance to share this blog.

I went for a walk around my village in an attempt to lift my mood, but annoyingly came back just as frustrated as I left… I sat down at my computer but nothing would work, then the screens froze and went blank. Great I thought, just what I need. Argghhh!

Yet, in that moment of surrender, I found a little peace.

I realised I was focusing on the negatives, and being very ungrateful for life’s treasures

As my partner helped me with the computer, I began to write a mental list of all the things I was grateful for. My partner, of course was number 1, followed by technology. Interestingly, both of them had been at the top of the ‘annoying’ list just a few hours earlier…

However, I was having trouble identifying the source of my frustrations. Whilst my partner, technology, and social distancing had all been annoying me, I knew none of them were the cause itself. I could feel it was something else that was bugging me, which was spreading out into other areas, and why I was getting frustrated with everything, and everyone.

After a meditation and reading a few chapters of a book called The Mental Toughness Handbook I felt much better and wiser too! Thanks to the book’s author, Damon Zahariades, I uncovered what it was that was annoying me.

It helped me tremendously, so I thought I would share the insights I got. Additionally, I made a graphic (thanks to Canva) which has been my desktop background image all week. I have shared that too. I’ve found it’s a really useful reminder!

The things that stop us from experiencing peace, are generally not our partners, finances, or even Covid-19 social distancing

Most of the time, it’s either self-doubt, self-pity, fear, a limiting belief, and/ or our emotions, inner critic, and a desire for perfectionism that causes a lot of our unhappiness. The great news is, the solutions to overcome them are fairly easy!

• Change your interpretation of what’s happening, and notice how your mood changes too!
• Accept that things will go wrong sometimes. It’s called life!
• Master your emotions and your inner critic.
• Accept imperfection, because perfection does not exist.

Good luck! Hx

Helen Monaghan

Chartered Management Accountant and Author of The Magical Mix of Money & Tax, Successful Business Minds, and 12 Steps to Improve Your Cashflow.

© HM Finance Coaching Ltd

Click HERE to find out more about The Mental Toughness Handbook by Damon Zahariades