Letting my weight down...

[sage]

Read a book called "From Panic to Power" by Lucinda Bassett. Here are some notes from it:

* Your fears are all about losing control. If you want to stay in control, stay in the present instead of projecting into the future.

* Did I want to spend the rest of my life like this, blaming others for my pain, blaming past situations for my anxiety?

* Recognize the past is the past. You are in control of your present and your future. the past affects you only if you let it.

* Responsibility means the ability to respond in a situation with control and calmness. It turns out that taking responsibility, as difficult as it is initially, is the only road to peace.

* Admit you are a negative thinker. Accept your negative thinking as a bad habit that needs to be broken. Get really good at tracking your negative thoughts. Replace your negative thoughts with compassionate self-talk.

* You are what you think you are and it's all about your attitude. If you think you aren't happy, you won't be. If you think you can't be successful, you won't be. If you think you're not attractive, you won't be. If you think you can't achieve what you want in your life and you say "what about where I come from?" then my answer is "so, what about where you come from"? do you want to blame your life on your past or do you want to use it aas a motivator? Will you use your childhood as a prison wall to hld you back or as rungs of a ladder that will take you to the top of your potential?

* Begin to dream again. Be specific. Give yourself a timeline. Make a plan of action. Take action.

* Your belief system must change. You must be willing to take a risk.

*If you don't make a conscious effort to stop the analysis you'll overload your brain and feel overwhelmed. Trying to figure everything out makes it all seem complicated, confusing and it produces a tremendous amount of anxiety. Consequently, the old behavior seems easier and getting started or taking risks seems too difficult. this is a subconcious way of resisting. Try releasing this type of resistance by giving yourself a time limit. Tell yourself "All right, I'm going to analyze this for two minutes and then I'm going to stop." the mental discipline is essential to stop the pattern. At first, it may be difficult, but it works.

*Assess each stressful situation against the following options:

Eliminate -- Can you eliminate the source of stress (usually no)

Modify -- can you modifiy the source of stress (usually no)

Underreact -- Can you underreact to the situation (usually YES!)

* Trust is an unconditional surrender to a knowing deep inside yourself that everything is all right, exactly as it is. The outcome is immaterial.

Sage