Could you say, instead:
- "Have fun!"
- "Wow, I see you climbing so high!"
- "Check in with your body... Is that height comfortable?... Will you be able to get yourself down?"
Of course, you may want to spot your little dare devil. But a scraped knee wouldn't be the end of the world, and it might be just the learning experience he needs, so he learns to evaluate risk accurately and keep himself safe. Our admonishments to "Be careful!" undermine that process.
Research shows that worrying makes us more fearful of bad outcomes. The decisions we make from that fearful place aren't the same decisions we would make from a place of love and trust. Guess which decisions have better outcomes?
Sages have been preaching that our thoughts create our lives ever since teaching began. Whatever we attend to flourishes. So when we focus on something, it’s like looking into a microscope – we make whatever we’re focusing on bigger, in our perceptions and therefore in reality.
Do you think worrying might keep your child safe?
If it did, that would be a small price to pay. But it doesn't. Many studies have concluded that people who worry more don’t solve problems any better or gain insight. They simply make themselves more unhappy! So we think that worrying about our child is insurance, but it's just a ball and chain.
Here's why. Although worrying is our mind's way of trying to protect us, we're actually negatively programming our subconscious. The subconscious thinks in pictures, and it believes whatever we tell it. Many scientists now suspect that all those anxious thoughts looping though our minds may be giving our subconscious the message to create those scenarios. At the very least, those worried thoughts stimulate feelings of anxiety and stress that cause us to act more stressed with our children.
Want to break the worry habit and reprogram your subconscious for happiness? Here's your five step process.
1. Start noticing every time your mind goes into worry.
When you observe yourself worrying about something, Stop. Take a deep breath. Shake your hands out to let go of that fear. Just noticing your physical state and consciously shifting into a more relaxed state sends a message to your mind that there's no emergency.
2. Remember that you don't have to believe everything your mind tells you.
Much of what your mind thinks isn't even true. It's just old fears and cautionary tales. In fact, if your thought is about the future, it can't be provably true. Even if it's about the past, it's probably not the whole truth. (For more on this, see our last post: Don't Believe Everything You Think)
3. Reassure yourself.
Put your hand on your heart, which stimulates the release of oxytocin and creates a sense of safety. From that wiser place, choose a different thought that gives you more hope. It's at least as likely to be true.
- “Every kid gets out of diapers sooner or later.”
- "I don't have to be perfect. My kids will be fine, even though I make mistakes."
- “My child doesn't have to be perfect. She's who she is. My job is to help her be her best self."
- "I am doing the best I can. Two steps forward, one step back still gets me where I want to go.”
- "He's acting like a kid because he IS a kid."
4. Reprogram your subconscious.
As you say your new statement (see Step 3 above), show your subconscious a picture of your desired outcome, whether it's your child smiling and safe, or happily doing her homework. Don't worry about how to achieve your goal -- that will get your mind involved again, which brings up fear. Instead, summon up a feeling of happy gratitude along with your picture. The longer you can hold that feeling and picture, the more quickly your subconscious will start helping you take positive actions to create it.
5. Take action.
Ask yourself: “What is one thing I can do today to make this positive outcome more likely?”
Then do it.
Here's where this technique differs from positive thinking. We have to feel good to know what action to take, so we're acting from our higher self instead of our "small self." But we do have to take the action to change our lives.
Every time your worry surfaces, repeat these steps. Scientists have found that our minds tend to follow certain tracks repeatedly, like grooves on an old vinyl record. Each time you interrupt a worry and send your subconscious a picture of a happier outcome, you're carving a new path for your mind -- a path of happiness instead of anxiety. Soon, you'll find yourself in a whole new landscape.
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"Realize that now, in this moment of time, you are creating. You are creating your next moment based on what you are feeling and thinking. That is what’s real. We can let go of the unconscious belief that being anxious about the past or the future will somehow protect us and instead reprogram our cells with new ways of responding.” -- Doc Childre
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In the next few weeks, we'll be interspersing more Spring Cleaning for Your Psyche with our regular posts about kids and parenting. Watch for the other posts in this series:
5 Strategies to Tame Your Inner Critic
Don't Believe Everything You Think
Want to Stop Being Upset? Change Your Mind.
6 Steps to Vaporize Your Negative Beliefs and Heal Your Self Criticism
Transform Your Inner Critic Into Your Inner Nurturing Parent
Go Out of Your Mind...And Into Your Body
How to Love Being with Your Kids? Dive Deeper.
