STRATEGIES AND TACTICS FOR HANDLING DISCOMFORT EFFECTIVELY
THE ROAD TO FREEDOM WHERE YOU ARE IN CONTROL


Every completed trip in life and result in life include ALL of the steps, and implicitly a complete procedure.

So, how do I proceed to handle discomfort effectively, for a good result?

[This is an exercise for myself, where I am outlining this for my own perspective and examining my discomforts that get in the way or my making better choices and/or which I create needelessly!  Identifying my sources of discomfort is a part of this process - see My Sources Of Discomfort.]

I acknowledge that my simple primitive brain will often not pick the best solution - and that my higher mind may not be properly engaged or have the 'energy' to make the right choice.  Therefore, I must instigate something I will do upon cue.  This is, essentially, a decided procedure which must be turned into a habit, so that it happens automatically and virtually every time. 

Seeking comfort is based on emotions, and thus chemicals in the body, which create a physical "state", which we often call an "emotional state".  You must have the basic understanding of emotions to gain perspective on what is actually happening and that it, almost always, is literally or virtually, nothing other than a "feeling".












1. A compelling reason why to change from the "easy default" - What is it? Write it out

Cue needed for the new way of handling this:

Firmly implemented realization that the comfort (or escape from discomfort) will lead to dissatisfaction and the loss of something greater.  [Be 100% clear on the tradeoff.  Write this out!] 

New cue to substitute:  What I really want out of life related to this: a clear statement to refer to (or recall, which is a "reference").

Examine old cue:  Is this really a threat? Is the discomfort being made up, manufactured illegitimately by me.

2.  Change current chemicals! - But it must be done in the face of the current "state", which does not involve ambition!

Breathe deeply and slowly - Tell myself that I will feel better from this breathing.  [Which is true!]   This is easy, and it is what the primitive brain 'wants'.

Start some easy movement, ramping up when body conditions allow ready.

Be with it - Recognize that it is no big deal and that it will soon pass.  Be still, relax, let it be.  [And then it does actually pass.]

"There is nothing to fear" -  This is minor, not meaningful, just a chemical imbalance which I shall correct, either directly or by letting it pass.

Review what you are grateful for.  Or listen to a CD of it.

Relax deeply, nap, or... - These are restorative and actually solve the "imbalance, out-of-balance" condition. 

Have a list of other activities that is cued for you to grab. 

Post the list!

Until you've mastered this, you should post the list, so it is available when needed, all over, on cards in wallet, drawer, mirror, etc.  (Print the above and cut it out.)
I get tired at night, maybe a little bored.  I seem to need stimulation, but I want it in the easiest way, usualy with something I believe will cause me to feel good - like sweet things.  Or something that will distract me from my current discomfort, of which boredom is just one of many causes. 

I seek to return to easy, normal functioning, that feels good.  If I lie here, I think, I'll feel better.  I just can't seem to move...

What do the cues cause?

Fear (of loss, of loss of comfort, of feeling
   anxious)

What are the cues?

Tired (plus my ability is less)
Anxiety about something (anxiety is
    "uncomfortable", duh!)
Already comfortable, so not want to disturb it.

The impulse is

To escape, avoid
Tamp it down

Almost always right away!

What I must do:

Stick something else in the space.  Substitute and replace what is going on.

The old related conversation

Omigod, I'm out of balance, sinking into the depths, caught in a passive sucking vortex, helpless, not feeling good.

The new related conversation 

"I'm out of functional balance.  I think I need comfort or to avoid discomfort.  However, I can choose to create a desirable state that will work."

Knowing when I have mastered this

Obviously, when I get the higher results I want.  When I have, at least largely, stopped using the strategies that cost me something greater.  While I may have to judge when to shut down in order to restore and may be in error sometimes, I do make a conscious decision based on a process I have decided to follow. 

Accordingly, my time is massively altered to be used at a much higher value level. 

While discomfort is from a state of mind or a physical event, it is most often from a thought of a loss or a "not having" of something I want.  Most often it is from not really 'thinking" and just allowing the stupid primitive mind to cough up garbage from its ill conceived associations.  It is, bottomline, just mechanics - and meaningless crap to which we have added stupid meanings.


Part of what is needed here is a foundation that will enable me to get to the next highest level, so that I can remove the false fears and obstacles to dealing with discomfort much more productively.  The perspective of what is the baseline for what is sufficient for my life and knowing that I have it is the key element - then I can't lose it. 

Discomfort will occur..., but...

The mind will match associated memories and emit chemicals.  This is what is so.  And it is nothing.  It is just a momentary chemical thing, that soon passes.  It is just a part of life. When we subtract it from the good of life, what is left is a magnificence that is incredibly great.  But somehow,, we get stuck in the discomforting idea that we should have more - when we already have more than enough.

Alfred E. Neuman, of Mad Comics fame, had it all correct:  "What, me worry?"  
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One of the secrets of life is focussing our efforts around the "core" of life, where the value truly is derived.   We have more than enough energy to do that - the secret is not to spend that energy elsewhere!And to not spend it on gaining praise or any periphery concerns - build the core and value will come to you.


We navigate by a small map based on seeing only what the next step is.  If we had a bigger map, a bigger perspective, we would choose something that gets us more to our true desired destination.  

This is one of the reasons, for sure, that we need to complete a Life Plan that creates the map to navigate our lives from.  It is such a blessing to have that plan to guide us forth!