I’ve been obsessively listening to Tony Robbins podcasts lately and am working to apply his teachings to my life. His teachings, in essence, are a mindfulness practice to observe your mind activity, recognize your conditioned thought patterns, and respond instead of react.
One of the main concepts that he teaches is that whatever you focus on, you will feel. When we focus on something in a particular way, we apply a meaning to the situation and the meaning that we choose is what makes us feel a certain emotion. Based on our emotions, we take actions and the outcome can be very different depending on what we choose to focus on.
Here is an example from my life of my “before and after Tony Robbins” thought and action patterns:
Situation: I recruited a wonderful sophomore from PALY to help me lead a 6-week teen yoga class series. No one signed up for the series. I felt defeated, frustrated, and disappointed.
Before (what I typically would have done):
-Focus: No one signed up.
-Meaning: I am not good enough. This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have tried.
-Action: Quit now so I don’t fail again.
After (what I chose to do instead):
-Focus: I have an amazing high-school student who has offered to help me for 6 weeks on Monday afternoons. We have access to a network of high-schoolers who want to do yoga. I have rented a space that is in a great location and is affordable. The monetary risk is low.
-Meaning: Teens probably have a hard time committing to a 6-week course with their busy and unpredictable schedules.
-Action: Try a different approach. We are trying drop in classes for the next 5 weeks instead of a 6-week series.
"What consumes your mind, controls your life."
With love,
Hana
p.s. I would love to practice yoga with you! Check out my free practice bundles HERE.