Shoulds, Oughts and Comfort Zones
Do you spend time doing things you think you should do? Do they stay in your mind, if you don't do them?
I have come to the conclusion that there is a difference between should and ought. For me something I should do is a simple thing, I should get some exercise, I should eat well, I should do my filing. However, something I ought to do is usually something that I really have strong feelings about, something that takes me outside of my comfort zone.
Comfort zones are by definition comfortable...there is no stress involved in staying there but as they say there is no growth either. The things we really know we ought to do for our own good are usually just outside our comfort zones or maybe even way outside!
I took a big leap this week and booked myself on a public speaking course. The minute I heard about it, it called to me and I knew I should do it. It took about 48 hours of overthinking before I got myself to book it. I am part delighted and part terrified!
The things we think we should and particularly ought to do take up residence in our energy field until we actually make a decision to either do or not do them. As I spent time thinking and thinking about the course I had no energy for anything else. I could not even bring myself to do my modern energy tapping, which was ridiculous as it would have helped no end. ( I have a bonus module in my Your Tapping Transformation 21 day course, if you want to know more) Even not making a choice is actually deciding, it is just deciding not to do anything yet. Yet, is the problem with this sentence, as it means that the decision and all the thoughts are creating a block in your energy field.
Do you have something you are thinking about doing or a new habit you would like to start? I always feel that August/September is the beginning of the year as school starts again and we get into a new routine.
Here are a few tips for making things happen:
- Do a minute of heart centred breathing...hands on your heart, breathing as slowly as is comfortable for you and start to imagine the breath is flowing in and out of your heart area.
- When you feel ready, start to think about the thing you "should/ought to" do. How does it feel in your body? Let it settle as you continue to breathe. This is just about you and how you feel, forget anyone else's opinion, for the moment.
- Do you feel any tension in your body as you think about the task? Sometimes this can be good tension...remember fear is excitement without the breath so let yourself feel is this still fear, now that you are breathing?
- Let the energy flow to that spot and visualise it flowing through. Give yourself a minute or two of breathing until that clears.
- Is anything else coming to mind? Does it now feel like a good choice? Is there tension anywhere else? You can breathe through this point too.
- When you have cleared these blocks, think about what you want to do. You have just cleared away any past resistance to doing it. This does not necessarily mean that it is automatically a good idea but you should be able to think clearer about it and make a more informed choice as to whether it is good for you or not.
- Go back to breathing in and out of your heart. What do you want to do about the task you have been focusing on? Make a decision and let the extra energy flow freely in your energy field.
This should give you more clarity about what is right for you. When we have blockages in our energy field in relation to something that is going on it makes it harder for us to think clearly. Energy blocks are created unconsciously by things that happened in our past, usually they are things that trigger us and make us react badly when something happens but often they are like little road blocks we have to go around that can set us just slightly off course.
Photo by Makhmutova Dina on Unsplash
