Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung said, “What you resist, persists.”
This principal is simple to understand, but a little more difficult to integrate into your everyday thinking. The concept is that anything you don’t want in your life will continue to occur, as long as you are putting negative attention on it. So, if you are in any type of challenge – financial problems, illness, relationship conflict, etc. – the more you dwell on it, talk about it or worry about it, the more it continues to be a part of your life. Even if you are saying to yourself, I don’t want this, I want this to stop, I want this to change, you are still strongly engaging emotionally in what you don’t want and therefore creating more of it with your thoughts.
There are probably hundreds of books, seminars and blogs talking about this idea of keeping your focus positively on the outcome of what you do want or need, feeling as if you already have it. But, how do you do it? If you really are worried or feeling stressed over an issue in your life, how can you learn to shift your emotions to good feeling ones?
Most of the messages out there say to start with changing your thoughts and then your emotions will change. This may be true, but much easier said than done. It is actual “work” to constantly shift your mind and your body when you just don’t have those good feelings inside of yourself – yet. The key word being- YET.
You probably already know this simple idea of how to live your life with acceptance and hopeful anticipation of what is coming to you. That doesn’t mean you don’t feel bad at times, but Carl Jung’s famous quote is saying to be O.K. with where you are now, instead of fighting against it. Accept and be grateful for whatever is going on in your life at this moment and come to a feeling of peace about exactly where you are. Then, start to believe everything you want is on it’s way.
Accept where you are instead of constantly focusing on where you think you should be. Be a little easier on yourself and take a sigh of relief. Feeling better about where you are is the first step to finding the motivation to start moving forward. Stop resisting; and what you don’t want will soon stop persisting.
