Joy Anonymous

I just wanted to share this little gem. Sunday lessons are on hold because of rain and thunder, so I had the opportunity to spend a bit more time relaxing with a cup of coffee (or 3).

This image came across my feed from a yoga page I was perusing while thinking about the OM Riding Clinic I am running on Jun 24-25.

What a poignant way to think about our conversations. I am sure we have all heard moto-quotes about thinking positively and that our thoughts and words define our existence, but I have never really thought about them being an addiction. I found truth in that statement.

I teach many adults and a high number of introverts. An observation I have made is that the folks who are able to separate their identity from their challenges make the most progress. That seems to be a key ingredient to success.

If you think about that observation in the context of our negative conversations being an addiction, we open a whole new can of worms about mindset, personal reflection, and fears. We all know people that we describe as "loving drama". Is that actually an addiction to negative conversations? Don't we describe people that are always talking about how bad everything is as getting their sense of importance from rumor-mongering conversations?

Talking constantly about all the negative things in your life, your horse, your luck, your dressage scores, your number of tire blow-outs, etc etc could then certainly be describing as an addiction. If you focus on all the negatives: you hide from your fear of success, you hide from your accountability, you hide from your ability to change it, you hide from yourself. I have known quite a few folks that do the same with drugs and alcohol.

Interesting thoughts for a rainy Sunday morning.

Now, I don't mean to say one shouldn't share negative emotions or fears. Let that shit out. Balance is key, right?

The reminder that the beginning of this post, was simply that: a reminder. To me, it reminds me to keep awareness with my conversations. Bring awareness to my self-talk (that annoying voice that likes to remind me of my insecurities). Bring awareness to conversations with others and notice how many of them are about the challenges present or perceived, versus how many of them are about the many joys in my life.

This is a reminder that when I get in the saddle and am struggling with my half-pass right, that I recognize and appreciate how much better my quality of canter has gotten as a result. Shift your focus. Shift your mindset. Shift your addiction.

How much more enjoyable is it to talk to someone that is excitedly sharing a project they are passionate about? Bring that joy to your daily conversations. Get addicted to the radiance that you give off when you hold a spark of inspiration. Find your spark.

Challenge yourself to recognize a negative conversation and end it with something positive that you are excited about! I challenged myself to share this post and am smiling as a result. I'm smiling because I hope this will resonate with you. I think it will.

Go get addicted to your joy.