Inspiration Corner
A collection of write-ups from experiences of life that inspire, empower, influence & trigger positive values, habits & mindsets.
Ad
The Committee In Our Head
“You are not a helpless victim of your own thoughts, but rather a master of your own mind.”
~ Louise Hay
Do you have a committee in your head? I certainly do. Let me tell you a little about mine. Once in a while, a committee member in my lovely brain will call a meeting. Then, the rest of the committee members will show up. They all sit around a big conference table. This committee consists of old teachers, those I’ve worked with, past boyfriends, old bosses, people on the street, family members…anyone! And they talk about me. They take a negative phrase I heard in my past and they discuss it over and over and over again.
~ Louise Hay
Do you have a committee in your head? I certainly do. Let me tell you a little about mine. Once in a while, a committee member in my lovely brain will call a meeting. Then, the rest of the committee members will show up. They all sit around a big conference table. This committee consists of old teachers, those I’ve worked with, past boyfriends, old bosses, people on the street, family members…anyone! And they talk about me. They take a negative phrase I heard in my past and they discuss it over and over and over again.
“Boy, Jennifer, you really messed that up.”
“Loser!”
“Man, you are fat!”
“I can’t believe you’re so stupid!”
“Why can’t you learn this?”
“You can’t do it, give up now-don’t even try!”
Does any of that sound familiar? They are all just a bunch of bullies! I’ve had this committee since as far back as I can remember. In fact, more and more people join the committee year after year. So let me tell you, it’s one big conference table!
I have tried everything possible to get rid of the committee, but to no avail. So this is what I decided to do. I can’t control when the committee decides to call a meeting, because they just pop up out of nowhere. So when this group starts to babble, I begin listening. And when I catch myself, I have one of two choices. I can either join in with them or I can say to myself, “Meeting adjourned!” After all, I AM the CEO of my own brain, right? If I don’t adjourn the meeting right away, I will start obsessing and believing what they are saying. The loop will begin playing in my head and I will begin looking worse and worse each time it plays. There is not ONE positive person on that committee…except for me.
Ah, we all have those little voices in our head. They comment negatively on whatever experience we are going through at the present time, trying to make us feel guilty about our past or terrified about our future. When I listen to their declarations, I find that they can make a positive situation into a negative one very quickly. I have yet to find one of those little suckers who have empathy or love for me. Instead, they criticize and try to destroy me at any given opportunity.
The committee of voices and opinions in our heads are from people we recognize, so they’re hard to ignore at first. They often have an urgency that causes us stress and demands our attention. They are all based on fear, trying to keep us in our old negative thinking cycles. That’s why adjourning these board meetings as quickly as possible is a must!
“Loser!”
“Man, you are fat!”
“I can’t believe you’re so stupid!”
“Why can’t you learn this?”
“You can’t do it, give up now-don’t even try!”
Does any of that sound familiar? They are all just a bunch of bullies! I’ve had this committee since as far back as I can remember. In fact, more and more people join the committee year after year. So let me tell you, it’s one big conference table!
I have tried everything possible to get rid of the committee, but to no avail. So this is what I decided to do. I can’t control when the committee decides to call a meeting, because they just pop up out of nowhere. So when this group starts to babble, I begin listening. And when I catch myself, I have one of two choices. I can either join in with them or I can say to myself, “Meeting adjourned!” After all, I AM the CEO of my own brain, right? If I don’t adjourn the meeting right away, I will start obsessing and believing what they are saying. The loop will begin playing in my head and I will begin looking worse and worse each time it plays. There is not ONE positive person on that committee…except for me.
Ah, we all have those little voices in our head. They comment negatively on whatever experience we are going through at the present time, trying to make us feel guilty about our past or terrified about our future. When I listen to their declarations, I find that they can make a positive situation into a negative one very quickly. I have yet to find one of those little suckers who have empathy or love for me. Instead, they criticize and try to destroy me at any given opportunity.
The committee of voices and opinions in our heads are from people we recognize, so they’re hard to ignore at first. They often have an urgency that causes us stress and demands our attention. They are all based on fear, trying to keep us in our old negative thinking cycles. That’s why adjourning these board meetings as quickly as possible is a must!
If we don’t stay on top of these comments and negative views, they can take over our lives. They can put us in a mental and behavioral prison of our very own making. They are abusers. They scare us in order to control us. When we listen to them, our thinking will always be in our past; full of guilt, shame, and embarrassment. Or sometimes worse, they’ll throw us into the future, and we’ll become fearful and full of anxiety.
The true path to peace and joy will be staying in the present. The biggest goal of the committee is to keep us as far away from our present reality as possible. Why? Because the present is where we find peace and joy…and the committee will have none of that!
I believe there is opposition to all things positive. With that, I have learned that I cannot have faith and fear at the same time. If I believe in an all-loving God, then there is His opposite out there operating with equal forces of evil. I call it the Adversary. This force will never give up trying to destroy me at every corner. And those little voices on the committee will be the Adversary’s greatest tool. It’s imperative to replace the fear-based messages we are receiving with positive words of affirmation. But we’ll talk about that later on in the book. So for now, remember these words, “Meeting adjourned!”
Visit her website: JenniferCPetersenAuthor.com
The true path to peace and joy will be staying in the present. The biggest goal of the committee is to keep us as far away from our present reality as possible. Why? Because the present is where we find peace and joy…and the committee will have none of that!
I believe there is opposition to all things positive. With that, I have learned that I cannot have faith and fear at the same time. If I believe in an all-loving God, then there is His opposite out there operating with equal forces of evil. I call it the Adversary. This force will never give up trying to destroy me at every corner. And those little voices on the committee will be the Adversary’s greatest tool. It’s imperative to replace the fear-based messages we are receiving with positive words of affirmation. But we’ll talk about that later on in the book. So for now, remember these words, “Meeting adjourned!”
Get the Latest & Recommended articles in your Inbox
The Committee is an excerpt from Jennifer C. Petersen's upcoming book: "STOP IT! Don't Compare Your Insides With Other People's Outsides." It will be available through Amazon.com January 1, 2016.Visit her website: JenniferCPetersenAuthor.com
Copyrights © 2024 Inspiration Unlimited eMagazine
Any facts, figures or references stated here are made by the author & don't reflect the endorsement of iU at all times unless otherwise drafted by official staff at iU. This article was first published here on 2nd December 2015.
