Flipping

Some people call it “Flipping”, others call it “pivoting”, still others call it “Re-framing”.

It’s all about how I speak to myself – Neuro Linguistic Programming.

If something bad happens to me, I will immediately look for the flip side. How can I milk this situation to do me good?  How can I RENAME this experience, to make it serve me instead of rob me?  I choose to  not  call it a disaster, I choose to call it…….

Now, I'm not pretending the bad stuff didn't happen, I am just choosing to  not  wallow in my misfortune. I choose to focus on the positive aspects.  If there appear to be none, then I will choose to spend my time dwelling on the future, and how I can best use this opportunity to move me forward.

I will do anything and everything to pull myself up out of the mud. If I think bad thoughts, I will spiral downwards into depression. My definition of depression is a deep pit, that I have built with my own hands and efforts. All around me, I can see brown dirty walls that have been built by me. Me me me, my walls, my problems, my situation, my feelings, my rights. If I agree that I have built it (take responsibility), then I can certainly dismantle it. This is encouraging. I can choose to LOOK UP out of my pit. Blue sky, birds singing.  I start to focus on other people instead of me, I choose to think about Good things, which gradually elevate me and the people around me.

What good can possible come out of a divorce? At the time, I could see no good whatsoever. I considered my dreams shattered and my life ended. But the fact that I can now (8 years later) see many good things  (freedom, release, money saving, a fresh start, re-evaluating, a peaceful home),  fills  me with hope when the next so-called ‘catastrophe’ hits.

So, to summarise:  Rename a situation, call it something else. Bad things will happen – the weight I give them is up to me.