Yes I am, a slacker. Someone who for the last umpteen months has written a post/blog every workday morning. Lately I have been getting slack, I have been posting later and later each day, sometimes not bothering to post at all. What a disappointment I have turned out to be!
What does this slackness say about me? That I cannot be trusted, that I have let people down, that I have failed, that I am hopeless, that I am a slacker? No, it says that something is going on.
Some of you who follow my posts might have been thinking that I was on holiday, that I was ill, or that I am struggling. Maybe you even thought that I wasn't writing any further posts, that I couldn’t be bothered. That's just your brain always thinking negatively, always biased, and always exaggerated. It is doing this so that you are prepared for the worst.
Worry, fear, anxiety, and stress all come from your brain. If you worry about one thing and don’t control that thought then your brain will add more worry to try and help you by offering more suggestions. “Is this what you are worried about” your brain will ask you. “No”, you will say (in your head) so your brain will give you something different to worry about and ask you the same question again. “How about this one?”
Whenever you have a negative thought about a situation, (or about yourself), just know that it is your brain telling you stuff that you may just need to ignore. Here’s an example – when was the last time that you achieved something great and your brain said to you "But you could have done much better?" "If you had done this differently then you would have had a better outcome." Rubbish. Ignore your brain, you are great and you are doing great things.
If you are someone who has lots of these negative thoughts, change the pattern by wearing a rubber band on your wrist and flick it every time you have a negative thought. The pain will soon tell your brain to stop thinking negatively.
How do I feel about not posting each morning? Really bad. And I know that it is just my brain telling me that I am useless, that I am letting people down, that I can't be trusted. My brain is viewing the world through dark tinted glasses just like yours is.
So what have I been doing not putting out posts each morning? I have been doing lots of other things and have had to prioritise what I do first thing in the mornings. It's a nice place to be, being busy, and I am very lucky. Even more so for having an understanding reader of my posts such as yourself.