How powerful is the urge to look back?
Looking back at historical monuments is interesting. Speculating how things came about can be fun. But is trying to make sense of a past event working out for you? Have you noticed where obsessing and ruminating takes you? An event from the past is history and a memory. It’s no longer a fact no matter how often you go back in time. You can learn to live in the present!
Are you flexible with what your mind says?
When your mind gets too loud, are you willing to be flexible with what it says? You don’t have to be bound by the rules your anxious mind is imposing upon you. You can develop mental and emotional flexibility!
Avoidance is Not the Solution
When anxiety becomes overbearing, is the urge to run away irresistible? What are you missing out on when you avoid the pain? You can learn skills to find joy and let go of your fear!
What’s on the Other Side of Fear?
How often do you avoid or opt out of situations because they cause anxiety, uncertainty, or other unpleasant emotions? Consider what may be on the other side of your fear. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some
Are you engaging in life?
Or do you feel like you are going up and down a flight of stairs without a purpose? Are you spending excessive hours worrying and engaging in unhelpful behaviors? Is the urge to find certainty getting in the way of finding meaning in your life? There is hope!
Can You Lock Up Your Uncertainty Forever?
None of us like uncertainty and if you struggle with righteous perfectionism (scrupulosity OCD), this is very difficult. Are you ready and willing to change your relationship with uncertainty? What would your life be like if you were willing to experience uncertainty, even though you don’t like it?
The Road Not Taken
When unpleasant thoughts and feelings show up, it may seem like you don’t have a choice in how to respond, but you do! You can choose the most traveled road (the easy path and compulsive behaviors) or the one less traveled (psychological flexibility) path. The least traveled path will require more work, patience, and effort, AND it will make all the difference!
Where is Your Focus?
Is religious and/or moral anxiety getting in the way of you focusing of what’s important in your life? Learn how to respond to your intrusive thoughts and focus on the here and now! Is religious and/or moral anxiety getting in the way of you focusing of what’s important in your life? Learn how to respond to your intrusive thoughts and focus on the here and now!
Take on Risks
Life is an adventure that includes ups and downs. While we all experience pain of one kind or another, how we respond to that pain makes a big difference in our suffering.
Be Free and Fly!
Giving in to compulsions and/or avoidant behaviors to find relief from the fear OCD brings into your life inadvertently strengthens the wrong neural pathways. These behaviors also affect your ability to be flexible with external or internal experiences (e.g., thoughts, judgments, memories, feelings, sensations, and urges), which can also influence your ability to let go of fear so you can find peace. “Imperfectly Good” will teach you how to develop psychological flexibility. As you develop psychological flexibility, you can become actively engaged in what is worth your focus, time, and energy; then choose to do what matters most in your life.
