WorldWide Drilling Resource

42 APRIL 2015 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® The Un-Comfort Zone II by Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. Feeling Good. In every moment, you have a choice to feel good or not. During the late 1970s when I was a college psychology student, I worked in two different psychiatric hospitals. I was enthralled with my studies, and loved learning what made people tick - especially what motivated them. At the same time, I was disturbed by the ther- apy I was witnessing in the hospitals. Depressed patients were heavily sedated and walked the halls like zombies. When it didn’t work ,they were given electrocon- vulsive therapy, better known as shock treatment. I rarely saw anyone improve. Disgusted, I abandoned my long-term goal of becoming a therapist, and put my psych training to work in the advertising industry. What I didn’t know was a rev- olution was beginning at the fringes of psychology. Dr. Aaron Temkin Beck was pioneering the concept of Cognitive Therapy. It is an idea based on thoughts becoming feelings. Negative thoughts lead to depression; and positive thoughts lead to feelings of well-being. It’s a simple commonsense concept which applies Occam’s razor to the complexity of psy- chotherapy, rooting out core causes of depression. While I personally believe it is essential to discover the core causes, I also think it’s great, by changing your thoughts, you can feel good now. A few years ago, I came across these sage words by Lao Tzu: “If you are de- pressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the pres- ent.” Tzu’s words really resonated with me. I realized when I got depressed, I had spi- raled into the feeling by ruminating on past bad decisions, lost opportunities, and good times I might never experience again. When I became anxious, it was because I was worrying about things I was unable to address in that moment. Often, they were only theoretical problems which might never materialize. I found when I focused on the present, and addressed things that were in my power to change in that moment, I finally found peace. The trick is recognizing the negative thoughts as soon as they begin before they have a chance to dominate your thinking and turn your good feelings into bad ones. Joyce Rennolds, a Law of Attraction speaker, suggests ending a negative thought by stating the word, “Cancel,” then state how you want to feel and ending with the word, “Now.” For example, if you are thinking that you don’t have enough money, before that thought turns into de- pression, you say, “Cancel. I am receiving unexpected income, now!” One-word affirmations are termed ‘Switchwords’ by James T. Mangan, author of The Secret of Perfect Living because they have the power to change your thoughts from negative to positive. Most are commonly used words with uni- versal meaning within the collective un- conscious of people who speak the same language. The idea is to state them over and over again as you would a mantra until the polarity of your thoughts switch from negative to positive. Kent Boxberger, an Atlanta-based business coach, whom I’ve previously written about, says when you become aware of a negative thought, or if you are feeling bad, you can change your mood by repeating the following sentence, “How much fun can I have in this moment?” He says in a short time you will feel better be- cause the word, Fun has such a powerful association with feeling good in our minds. He also suggests you can change your thoughts by appreciating what you have. The important thing to know is you have a choice in what you think and in turn how you feel. It may not seem like it when you are in the throes of a deep depression or caught up in the frenzy of anxiety, but waiting for a piece of good news to pep you up and put the brakes on your run- away feelings is not the answer. Knowing you can control your feelings by control- ling your thoughts is much better than waiting endlessly for an elusive boost from outside yourself. And, the sooner you feel good, you’ll find you think faster, with more clarity and creativity. All of which will continue to reinforce your good feelings. Robert Robert is an author, humorist, and innovation consultant. He works with companies that want to be more com- petitive and with people who want to think like innovators. For more information on Robert, visit www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com or contact him via e-mail at michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com /*% 3*-- :45&.4 /$ !& "3& %&%*$"5&% 50 5)& 8"5&3 8&-- */%6453: "354 -0$"5&% "/% 41"3&4 1307*%&% '03 &9*45*/( &26*1.&/5 > 305"3: 5"#-&4 /08 130%6$&% 8*5) -"3(& 3*/( (&"3 "/% 1*/*0/ &&% &1"*34 05"3: 5"#-&4 < 6% 16.14 < "+03 $0.10/&/54 0/?5 '03(&5 3%&3 :063 $01: 0' = 3"/4'&3 0' &$)/0-0(:> 83*55&/ #: 0)/ ? 410*3 "3,&5 /*% )0/& < "9 888 &/*%%3*-- $0. ; 9$*5*/( $)"/(&4; Are you a tank manufacturer? Reserve your editorial focus spot in WWDR ’s special tank issue before space runs out. Show the World your products in June! E-mail bonnie @worldwidedrillingresource.com or give us a call. (850) 547-0102 DEADLINE Is APRIL 15 tH .