Rewire your brain to overcome challenges
Throughout life; we are thrown all types of challenges. Some of these we breeze through, others we struggle with, sometimes for a long time after we have moved through them. In our work life, this is no different.
It may be a tricky boss that seems to have it in for you, always looking for fault. In the back of your mind, you always knew it was more to do with them, but somehow at the time, it felt VERY personal. Mulling over this long after you have left the job and moved on.
Or maybe it’s the moment you were made redundant through no fault of your own apart from a restructure or a global pandemic. It made you feel like rubbish at the time and like you lost not just a job but your friends and purpose. It felt difficult. Haunting you while looking for a new job.
It’s not wrong to feel this way. It’s our minds processing through the events. But wouldn’t it be feel better if we could release these from our minds and look to a positive future?
Looking to Buddhism
Wouldn’t we all love to overcome obstacles or find a way through difficult times simply? This doesn’t mean that they don’t happen; it means that you have a way to deal with these obstacles. And even a shift in focus to make them not feel like the huge disruption they might usually be. Interestingly, Buddhism believes you can do just this through training and rewiring your brain and the way you think.
Stay with me - whilst I’m not suggesting we all become Buddhists, it can be useful to look beyond our current understanding and thinking to see other ways to manage our work life.
Firstly, understanding the fundamentals of how we are currently wired and what inspires and motivates us can shed light on where we lay our value of ourselves, our work, and our lives. And about why we struggle through these times of our lives.
According to the Buddha, desire and ignorance lie at the root of this suffering. These both lead to craving and attachment to things that are impermanent. This attachment causes us to suffer when we experience loss or change because we hold onto a false belief that what we are attached to will bring us lasting happiness. Buddhism teaches that mental suffering can be overcome through the development of understanding and the cultivation of certain mental states and practices.
How can I rewire my brain?
I love the Buddhism approach; it aligns beautifully with my Self Leadership coaching. My Self Leadership style of coaching invites you to look inside and discover your value, your innate wisdom, strengths, passion, and purpose. The more you understand about yourself, the better your decisions will be.
Coaching is about your personal growth and the development of your hidden potential. It will challenge you - what you believe about yourself, your limitations, and what you can achieve.
Questioning where you are placing value, is it in the biggest house, the biggest job with no time? Or is it a variation on this, a home that is comfortable and reflects who you are and how you live? A job that fulfills its role in your life with a sense of purpose, financially supports you and your family at a level that is comfortable and is challenging without taking all of your time. Is there space for more in your life?
Recognising there are times in your life when the huge challenging job might be where you can best create value and have the energy for and want to charge for. And other times in your life when there are other areas of your life that emerge as what you value.
With an understanding and coaching of these, we can work to rewire how you think and how you respond to challenging times and situations. Empowering you to make decisions that reflect what you truly value and actively work towards where you want to be in your work and your life.
Simply learning to find value in what is core to you. Letting go of excess and creating space and energy for what will bring you the most fulfilment and satisfaction.
But, what can I do now?
Looking for something you can do now?
Rewiring your brain takes time and practice. However, there are a few ways you can take a step back from whatever is challenging you, take a moment and change your approach:
Take a breath - it’s a classic for a reason. Changing our focus to something internal, like our breath, can bring us back to a state of calm and mindfulness. Even in the most challenging situations, three deep breaths with your eyes shut will calm the nervous centre and allow your mind to relax.
Take note - when you look at your life, what is it that truly brings you joy? Write it down; it might be a massive list or only a couple of key things. Either way, you will find where you need to spend more energy. And often, it is these fundamentals that keep us sane in our crazy lives and remain grounded.
Make space - make space and energy for those key things that give you joy. Investing in these things will help your emotional buoyancy. Shift your perspective from what challenges you and focus on what fulfils you.
Self Leadership coaching will help you to shift your perspective. Whilst this won’t remove challenges from your life. Rather, it will give you the tools that allow you to overcome these challenges in a positive way. Moving forward easier and toward a life you create and want.
If you want to find out more about my Self Leadership coaching, take a look and get in touch. Sign up for my newsletter - or book a consultation, and we can work together to find where Self Leadership coaching might take you.
