Instead of trying positive thinking, try this
Let’s aim for useful, not positive.
This article is cross-posted from my weekly newsletter, The Sunday Soother, a newsletter about clarity, intention, and useful tips for creating more meaning in your life that goes out every Sunday morning. Subscribe here. I am also a coach who works with sensitive people so they can stop second-guessing, make decisions confidently and live the life they’ve always dreamed of. You can learn more about working with me here.
Happy Sunday, Soothers. Since I work primarily with sensitive women, a lot of what we delve into is the loops of negative thinking, processing, and ruminating our sweet brains can get caught up in.
This can cause us a lot of shame. If you struggle with negative thinking, you truly know how painful it can feel, and you probably also know what can be called “the second arrow” of suffering about it. The parable of the second arrow is a Buddhist parable about dealing with suffering more skillfully. In this case, the first arrow is the fact that we as sensitive women often inherently struggle with negative thinking. The second arrow is the shame and self-blame we then experience in reaction to the first arrow.
The parable goes like this: The Buddha once asked a student, “If a person is struck by an arrow, is it painful?” The student replied…
