The Mind Loops Blog – Oct 2021
Recently I attended a friend’s art show. It was a group show in a TINY gallery, with art that ranged from Big Cartoons… to “Abstracts” (more like: “Let’s get super HIGH and PAINT!”)… to Andy Warhol Wannabes. (sorry guys).
Some were pretty cool. (I liked the dark red abstract that screamed, “I’m on Ketamine outside of a therapeutic setting! Woo-hoo!!”).
In the corner, a couple of aged punk rockers played pithy punk rock tunes UNPLUGGED (an oxymoron if there ever was one).
It was a fun scene.
While I was sipping wine, listening to a live elevator-version of “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” and admiring a robot painting, a very tall, broad-shouldered fellow approached.
“Barbara! How have you been? It’s been YEARS!”
So many years in fact, that I squinted at him, rummaging through my mental file cabinet to figure out WHO HE WAS.
While I scrambled to find my “mental librarian”, I did what any normal, panicking person would do in a social setting: “Fake It ’til You Remember It.”
“Oh wow! Yes it’s been so long! Great to see you again!” (ahem).
What happened next was, in my opinion, a social and energetic CRIME.
He MONOLOGUED me.
Vocabulary.com:
“monologue” = a speech delivered by one person, or a long one-sided conversation that makes you want to pull your hair out from boredom.”
“Oh, really?… uh-huh… Wouldn’t you know?… But… oh… uh-huh… You don’t say…”
That was the extent of my side of the “dialogue.”
Meanwhile, my energy was being ZAPPED, my adrenaline was RISING, and my wine-drinking was INCREASING by the second.
GET ME OUT OF HERE!!! my body screamed.
But I was trapped. Literally.
What’s-His-Name literally backed me into a CORNER. I was like a trapped fox. I could hardly breathe. On and on and on and ON he gabbed. How to escape??
What I wanted to do, was yell:
“CUT IT OUT!!!”
Oxford Languages:
“Cut it out!” = ask someone to stop doing or saying something that is annoying or offensive. (but you knew that already).
“Cut it out” is a damn handy phrase. When we CUT OUT the things that DON’T work, we allow in more of the things that DO work.
Like what exactly, Barbara?
Glad you asked. We could CUT OUT:
• SUGAR – for significantly greater health.
• SITTING WITHOUT BREAKS – to eliminate back problems, hip issues, and flat-chair-butt 😦
• NEGATIVE MIND LOOPS – for more joy, success, health, better relationships, peace of mind…
• WASTED TIME – for greater productivity, creativity, curiosity, and rich-n-juicy memories of a Life Well Lived.
• MONOLOGUING – so no petite redheads punch you in the face. Oh yeah: Also for greater human connection, love, and happiness too.
And those are just the tip of the iceberg.
As Derek Sivers says:
“Most of eating healthy is just avoiding bad food. Most of being right is just not being wrong. To have good people in your life, just cut out the bad ones.”
What is ONE THING you could cut out that would make a HUGE DIFFERENCE in the quality of your life?
I know the first thing I’m cutting out. It’s a tall guy, with broad-shoulders… but I can’t recall his name…
PS: If it’s negative Mind Loops you’d like to CUT OUT, my book, How To Stop Negative Thoughts will tell you how. You can pick up a copy here, and it comes with a FREE Workbook, and FREE audiobook (read by Yours Truly) of “The Seven-Day Mental Diet” by Emmet Fox.
Happy cutting!
Barbara Ireland
Author of the #1 Amazon Kindle Bestseller, How To Stop Negative Thoughts
Contributing author of the #1 Amazon Bestseller, The Transformative Power of Near-Death Experiences
HOW TO STOP NEGATIVE THOUGHTS 