Don't Major in Minors

I'm friends with a spit-fire named Michelle. Just the other day she turned to me during our ritual Monday evening spinning class, and said "You know Steph, I just can't major in minors anymore!" and then went back to her biking.

Michelle, being famous for zippy one-liners like this, made a very good point. How many of us stress out about small things all the time? How many of us are burning up so much adrenaline on the small stuff, that we have little left for the situations or events that might need a bit more attention or care? How many of us have lost our ability to see our lives clearly and have started seeing the littlest things as raging forest fires? I know I can do this at times. I imagine many of you are nodding your heads along with me...

So what do we do about this? After a while, our focus on the negative can become a bit of a bad habit. Like an old man who's walked the same narrow path through a field 100 times a day for 80 years, the path can get worn so deep that he's up to his eyeballs in dirt. Sometimes it's tough to even remind himself of the beauty of that field just above his head. How many of us have become this old man with the habits and patterns in our own lives?

I find that in those moments when I'm "majoring in minors", taking a good deep cleansing breath and releasing it with a sigh does wonders for clearing the body's energy, and rebooting our internal program. When we have more time, sitting and enjoying any number of self-reflective activities can help get underneath the issue to find the belief at the root of it all. "The Work" of Byron Katie is of course my favorite practice, but journaling, meditating, or talking it through with a friend can also be of huge benefit. Once we shine the ol' mental flashlight on those limiting beliefs, they disappear, never to return. Like Byron Katie loves to say, it's like realizing that a snake lying in front of you is actually just a rope. Once you realize it's a rope, you can never be afraid of it again.

In the college of life, what will YOU major in today? The choice is up to you...

©2007 Stephanie McWilliams