Episode 105: How To Stop Checking Boxes And Start Living Life

I didn’t want to experience life–I wanted to master it. I was too caught up in my goals to enjoy what was right in front of me. I figured that when I checked all the boxes on my goal list, then I would finally be happy: WHEN I have a life partner THEN this experience will be awesome WHEN I am thinner THEN I will be happier WHEN I am less busy THEN life will be more peaceful WHEN I am more present THEN I will be content And because I wasn’t present in the moment, not living in the moment was holding me back   We live our lives in When Then statements. We spend too much of our time waiting, hoping, wishing for our broken selves to be fixed so THEN we can be happy.  What if you aren’t doing anything wrong? What is happiness isn’t something you attain permanently? What if you are thinking about it wrong? All this month we are looking at how the self-help isn’t doing us any favors and is leading us astray, particularly those of us with High Functioning Anxiety who love looking outside of ourselves for the answers. In today’s episode, I examine howl When-Then thinking is keeping us stuck. How it is preventing us from accepting ourselves, living in the moment, and seeking solutions from within. Listen to the full episode to hear: How to start accepting ourselves as we are so we can start living the moment How we can have happiness without devaluing the daily experience 3 Myths of When-Then thinking And recognizing life’s daily opportunities so we can experience life more deeply and fully Some of the research and resources mentioned in this episode: Psychologist and researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky My books on living with High Functioning Anxiety And how you can work with me one-on-one  The solutions the personal growth industry sells leave women living with hidden anxiety--women like you--with more stuff to be anxious about. Even worse, it can turn you off from getting help completely. I want to help you dial back the overwhelm and overthinking with a set of tools designed just for people like you. It’s not woo-woo. It’s not trying to positively think your challenges away. And I’m certainly not going to tell you to start living your best life. I work one-on-one with women like you to deconstruct why anxiety creeps up on you and give you something to do about it. Visit: https://NancyJaneSmith.comLearn More About Self Loyalty School: https://selfloyaltyschool.com