Unbelievable. coincidence.
Here I am at a weight loss coaching workshop at the uberchic W Scottsdale (pure. heaven.)
Discussing how our thoughts create our reality.
Learning that it’s all about our thoughts.
And guess what the funky W coasters say?
What you thinking right now? Write it down!
Believe it or not, this is the recipe for permanent weight loss.
Was the W coaster creator a graduate?
(Joking)
According to presenters Martha Beck and Brooke Castillo, and I humbly agree, this simple suggestion is the basis of designing the life you want to live.
Once you know what you’re thinking
(and many of us don’t)
(and it ain’t all pretty)
you can manage those thoughts to produce the feeling you want to live your life by.
No matter the circumstance or situation.
I promise.
Don’t believe me? Email me the situation you believe is causing you pain, and I’ll prove it to you.
It’s ALWAYS your thoughts about it. And those can be changed.
On my way to Scottsdale on Friday, here’s how my day went:
Arrive at airport with only an hour to boarding, because I had already checked in online, and I have a Nexus card (love) that lets me bypass the customs line-up.
Nexus kiosk rejects my request to print my boarding pass and drop my bags.
Shunted to line-up for check-in with a human (who does human anymore??? apparently me today)
The (eventual) agent tells me the system did not save my check-in data, and we have to start from scratch.
I sail past the people lining up to see a (human) customs agent, put my irises in the right place, and the machine spits out my card.
I approach the final human (or so I think), internally waving a “Bye suckers” to all the non-Nexus owners waiting patiently in line.
But the final (or so I think) human sends me through the green doors instead.
Why?
“Because the Nexus machine said that‘s what I have to do” (whatever happened to us humans?)
So… I enter the mysterious green doors.
Tons of people sitting around.
Some had fruits or veggies discovered in their baggage (oops! How did they know? OK they can’t know, they haven’t even seen my bags)
Some are there for random Nexus checks. OK. That I can do.
How long have you been waiting?
About 25 minutes.
Oops. I guess I will get to Scottsdale a different way today.
Get screened within 5 minutes, sent on my merry way.
Enter security line.
Send carry-on through scanner.
Oops! Laptop needs to be removed from carry-on bag.
OK. Try to remove laptop without security guard seeing all the (illicit) fruits and veggies spilling out of the bag.
Rescan all my stuff.
15 minutes to takeoff.
Gate is far away.
Sprint to gate.
Get there just before doors close.
I know I know.
What you’re thinking.
What I could have been thinking:
“%@*!ing online check-in –why can’t they get their act together.”
“^&*#@ing Nexus – I paid for the card so I get through quicker, not slower.”
“Why does it have to be the furthest gate?”
“Why didn’t I leave earlier, like my brilliant husband said?”
Etc. etc. etc.
I heard all those thoughts from various fellow passengers and rule-breakers.
Except.
Each of those thoughts would make me feel pretty crappy.
Which is how I choose NOT to feel.
I decide how I feel every moment.
My top three: 1. joyful 2.excited 3.peaceful
I know I can choose my feelings
Because I manage my thoughts
Which produce my feelings.
So here’s what I chose to think about this day:
“I’m so grateful the Nexus guy didn’t search my luggage (I would have lost my beloved Nexus card)”
“Thank you scanner guy for ignoring my fruits and veggies (and not sending me back to the dreaded green doors)”
“Wow! I’m fit and strong enough to run to my gate (2 years ago I would have missed the flight)”
“How lucky am I to be on my way to sunny Scottsdale and my very own king size bed in my spectacular hotel room in the heavenly W hotel?”
All equally valid.
No namby pamby affirmations no one can believe.
Absolutely true thoughts that I know and believe.
All led me to gratitude.
Which made me feel lucky and excited!
Which is how I want to live my life.
