Our nervous system is wonderfully (and thankfully!) incredibly consistent at saying, "Hey! Something is happening!", but it does not say if that thing is good or bad. What if we flexed the muscle and trained the habit to take control of how we interpret the wonderful gift of awareness that our nervous system freely gives?
We often do a really good job of scaring ourselves away from maybe really healthy things. Our nervous system says, hey, something is happening. And it leaves it up to us to decide if what we are feeling is good or bad. Be grateful for that nervous system today.
We often do a really good job of scaring ourselves away from maybe really healthy things. And I think it's because we're gifted with this beautiful nervous system that is really good at, with no attachment whatsoever, saying, hey, something is happening. Think about, like, when you start working out. The fitness industry does a really horrible job of, of showing the world what fitness should look and feel like. If you think about fitness ads, we see people with the wind blowing through their hair and they're smiling and the sweat is placed perfectly, and it seems like they are enjoying that moment.
Like they would enjoy sitting in a lawn chair on the ocean with a tasty drink in their hand. In reality, we start running, we start feeling, and our nervous system says, something outside of our body is happening to us right now. And that's all our nervous system says. It doesn't say, this thing is good, this thing is bad. Right? I often talk about this proverbial bear that's chasing us, right? Our nervous system has no idea if we are exercising to make ourselves stronger or if we're running away from danger.
All our nervous system does. It says, hey, something is happening. And it leaves it up to us, that mindful present voice, to decide if what we are feeling is good or bad. So think about all of those moments of stress and tension that you purposefully and positively bring into your day. What if, all of a sudden, when our nervous system says, we can take a breath and go and it's good? If, when we are flying on that treadmill or picking up that heavy thing and putting it back down, what if in that moment when we are being present with the people and the passions that we care about, and yeah, there's stress and tension and ickiness and feeling and hurt, perhaps, but we say, and I'm here on purpose, and this is where I want to be.
So our nervous system, rather than being just the, it's also the, hey, something's happening. And then we train ourselves to go, thank you, nervous system, for being that alarm, that reminder set that we have good things going on. The next time you're running a sprint and your heart starts jumping out of your chest and your legs start shaking and your nervous system says, hey, go ahead and respond by going. And it is good. So close your eyes. Take this minute to listen to what your nervous system is saying right now.
Why do our shoulders creep up? Why do we curve forward? Why do we get tense within our fingers? Why do we have smile lines? All these things evidence of our nervous system saying, hey, something is happening. So right now decide if those things that your nervous system are bringing your attention to are good. And affirm that as you open your eyes and start to bring in reaction and response to all the things going on around you, ask yourself today, every time the nervous system jumps, is it good?
Is it bad? Embrace it. Run away from it. Be grateful for that nervous system today. Have a good one.
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