In My Altered State

Charlottesville

June 5, 2023

Yesterday in my dream-like state brought about by a muscle relaxer, I was reflecting on my "career." I zeroed in on times that I felt I was just responding to the demands of certain jobs as opposed to me being in charge. I also thought of times I didn't like my jobs and some of the people who made those jobs difficult (I hated being micro managed especially when I had proven myself to not need such management).

Out of nowhere, the answer to why those situations bothered me became obvious -- I had allowed them to get to me without even putting up a fight! My mind had raced off to Frustrationland and I had never applied "don't believe everything that you think." Neither had I applied the growth mindset, instead relying on my fixed mindset thinking that somehow I was wired to find those situations to be frustrating.

It's perhaps one of the greatest gifts I acquired on my wanderabout -- the willingness to challenge my intuitive assumptions and to be curious about the "why" of what I think all wrapped in a package of a willingness to laugh at myself. Ironic that I found tgst the growth mindset "fixed" my mindset!!