The Power of the Present Moment
We’ve all been there – that split second when irritation or frustration rises up. Our thoughts start spinning, pulling up past grievances and projecting into an imagined future conflict. Before we know it, we’re swept away by our own negativity.
A Moment of Clarity
A client recently shared a moment that captures something profound about how our minds work. She was about to get into an argument with her partner when something shifted.
Rather than following the negative train of thought, she paused and turned her attention inward.
In that moment of stillness, she saw she had a choice. She could dive into her bad mood and likely ruin the entire weekend with conflict. Or she could wait, letting the turbulent thoughts and feelings pass.
Trusting Your Internal Gyroscope
She tuned into what we called her “internal gyroscope” – that innate sense of balance we all have.
From that quieter place, she could see her state of mind with greater clarity. The upset was coming from her own thinking, not from what her partner had done or said.
So she waited. She didn’t act on the reactive impulse.
And naturally, her turbulent thoughts and emotions soon gave way to something lighter. “I forgot about it and had a great weekend,” she told me later. “I’m not even sure what the argument was going to be about.”
How Our Minds Actually Work
This points to something deeply important: our experience of life flows from three principles working together – Mind (the energy and intelligence behind life), Consciousness (our awareness), and Thought (our ability to create our personal reality moment to moment).
When we recognize that our feelings come from our thinking in the moment, not from our circumstances, we find freedom.
We don’t have to believe every thought that crosses our mind. We can wait for a clearer state of mind before we act.
My client didn’t need to analyze her thinking or figure out why she felt upset. She simply noticed she was in a low mood, saw that following that thinking would take her somewhere she didn’t want to go, and waited.
Her wisdom emerged naturally when her mind settled.
The Choice We Always Have
This is the choice we have in every moment: follow our bad feeling or wait for a better feeling and with it, our own wisdom.
When we remember that our experiences arise from thought in the moment, we can step back. We can let the storm pass. And we often find that what seemed so urgent and important simply dissolves.
Try This
The next time you feel a storm brewing inside, pause. Notice where you are mentally.
You don’t need to fix anything or figure anything out. Just recognize that you’re caught in your own thinking, and that will shift. It always does.
That’s the gift of understanding how our minds work – not as a technique to apply, but as a simple recognition that everything changes, and that changes everything.
What do you notice about your own thinking when you’re in a low mood? I’d love to hear your reflections in the comments below.
As always, reach out if I can help.