Matter Over Mind

At 5:10 a.m. I was already making excuses when only one week earlier, having attended my first Business Network International (BNI) meeting, I was pumped. A coveted spot had opened for a life and business coach and I was invited to check out this extremely professional chapter. A week ago I could hardly wait to fill out the application and write the sizeable check to be considered for this hardworking group.

One week later, tired and “kvetchy” I started preparing my excuses, wondering where I put my sponsor’s cell phone number. I'll go next week I promised myself, already thinking next week will be hard too. And the excuses began to multiply.

Rolling over to turn off the snooze button, out of nowhere, I had this far more productive thought: the one thing I have control over is my behavior. Not my thoughts, not my feelings – only my behavior. In the face of negative thinking and fluctuating emotions, I can still behave in my best interests. The mind and emotions are governed by all sorts of things, biological and psychological. But I could choose to behave in a way consistent with my goals and values - rather than serve the fleeting fantasies of my mind, those gremblims, and reactive emotions.

So I suited up and made the meeting – happily.