THOUGHTS-FEELINGS-BEHAVIOR

There can be no happiness if the things we

believe in are different from the things we do.

                 -   Freya Stark

We feel most in tune with our core self when our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are aligned and compliment one another.  This is when our actions reflect what we think and feel, and we are living our life purpose. 

A sure sign of being off-balance is when our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are continuously in a tug of war.  We may feel like we are “overreacting,” “obsessing,” “numb,” or “paralyzed” and unable to control our thoughts, feelings, or behaviors despite our better judgment.

We may respond powerlessly to the part that tugs the hardest at us, which prevents us from acting upon the wisdom of our core.  To our dismay, the part that we are acting on often throws the others parts off-balance as well. 

Consider this simple example.  At any given moment, we may THINK that it is wisest to take a break from DOING a stressful task but at the same time FEEL anxious or fearful that our performance (or we) will not be considered up-to-par.  What we may end up DOING instead is worrying, pressuring ourselves to keep going, getting more fatigued, and making more mistakes than usual.

Greater pressure and substandard output will likely cause us to feel more anxious about our performance, less likely to take a break, and worse at what we do.  This is often how we get caught in a vicious cycle that spirals outward and that can become problematic the further and further we move away from our true self.

Exploring and working through repressed or overbearing feelings, thoughts, or behaviors is an effective way of keeping the scales evenly balanced and consistent with our core self.  Counterbalancing and dealing directly with any one of the parts that are off-balance is often enough to cause an immediate shift in the other parts.

So instead of acting on our anxiety, it would be more beneficial to learn how to calm our fears, which will probably confirm our thoughts that taking a break would be refreshing and good for us.  A determined mind can help us carry out our plan, and the actual break will very likely produce the desired results of enhanced performance and less performance anxiety.

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