#012 | The Power of Substitution (How To Avoid Overthinking)
Mental Clutter: Cara Untuk Elak Terlalu Fikir Masalah
Updates: Newsletter #12 (The Power of Substitution) ini perlu dibaca bersama Newsletter #13: The Solution for All Of Our Challenges
Assalamualaikum.
When I say, “Don’t think of pink elephant,” the first thing that crosses your mind is… (wait for it)
.
.
.
…pink elephant.
So today, I want to share something special, that will help you to switch from thinking of your problem to something that makes you happy.
Introducing, the law of substitution.
The way to get rid of darkness is with light; the way to overcome cold is with heat; the way to overcome the negative thought is to substitute the good thought.
Sebelum tu, saya nak share - apa beza orang biasa dengan great leader?
Orang biasa, lari dari masalah. Great leader, face the problem. Kena solve the problem.
But sometimes, there are things yang kita memang tak boleh buat apa-apa.
Contoh, what people think of us, it’s out of our control.
The outcome of our effort, also, is out of control. Kita boleh usaha, tawakkal, and the outcome, still bukan pada kita.
Dalam kita nak solve the puzzles, the best thing to do is, not to think about it.
Easier said than done, aite?
Bayangkan kalau kita tengah pegang pen. Nak lepaskan pen tu, just buka tangan, lepaskan, dan pen tu akan terjatuh dengan sendirinya.
Senang kan?
But, with thought, this will not work.
Macam mana nak lepaskan thought tu?
Masa zaman muda-muda dulu, I have a friend yang baru lepas breakup. One day I told her, “Lupakan je lah x tu..” [x = nama orang itu].
My friend replied, “Ok baiklah. Waktu ni, sekarang ni, saat ni, waktu ni juga kita lupakan x.”
Then we both laughed.
Because it’s not easy.
So how?
Kalau pen, buka tangan, lepas.
With thought, kena substitute.
“If you want to dismiss a negative thought, the only way to do so is to think of something positive and constructive.”
Umpama pen tadi, kita tak dapat buka tangan dan lepaskan, but instead, gantikan dengan benda lain, contoh buku. Pen tu terjatuh dengan sendirinya.
“I’m not goint to think of the pink elephant.” - that means, you’re still thinking of it. Gantikan, dengan watch movie instead, then you will forget all about the pink elephant.
Look, I’m not asking you to watch movie everyday just to get rid of thinking about your problem.
But instead, find something more meaningful, the ones that can fill the void in our hearts.
Ramai orang ingat, shopping, beli barang, beli dan terus membeli - that’s what makes us happy. But it’s not. Happy tu sementara saja.
After some time, we want to buy a new one. Contoh handphone, lepas beli happy. After some time, we want a new one.
It’s not things that make us happy.
It’s finding our gift, to give. Life filled with contribution.
Switch your mind, think of contribution: How can I serve?
“Remember, your life is not about you. Rather, your life is about the lives of everyone you touch. When you make your life about the lives of everyone you touch, you will never wake up feeling anxiety, worry or stress again.”
So bila ada negative thought muncul, tak perlu fight dengan thought itu. Think of something positive.
Think of God.
Think of any other positive, or constructive idea (like how to fully utilize our talent), and then the negative thought will fade out.
And sometimes, negative thoughts ni terlalu kuat. Boleh menyebabkan stress, depression, anxiety - in this case, the best thing to do is to watch movies yang anda suka, read an interesting book; something similar that you enjoy the most.
Substitute. Tukar attention kita kepada sesuatu yang very different. Kalau tak, mind kita akan besarkan lagi masalah tu.
Sometimes masalah kita tak besar mana pun. Tapi kita yang besarkan masalah tu. (with our own thoughts)
And sometimes, masalah kecil kita tu jadi besar, sebab ada ‘sesuatu’ yang bisik-bisik.
Bila kita done substitute our thought, later on, let’s get back to the great leader attitude: face the problem, solve the problem, what can be done?
Great leaders don't run from problems. Because they know that the sooner a problem is solved, the sooner life or business can move forward.
One of the best ways to solve it is by asking this question:-
With that, I end my sharing today.
I hope you learn something great.
As always, feel free to hit reply and let me know what you think or if you have any questions I can answer.
Love you guys.
Talk to you next week, inshaAllah.
Updates: Newsletter #12 (The Power of Substitution) ini perlu dibaca bersama Newsletter #13: The Solution for All Of Our Challenges
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