The Power of the Mind

The Power of the Mind

The mind is so very powerful, and it is great when it is working properly. I feel as if my mind has been doing it’s own thing for the last few years (and not necessarily working to a satisfying standard), but every now and then it now comes back and shines. The buzz this gives me is immense! It gives me a little hope and I feel as if I am starting to turn a corner. This in turns makes me more relaxed.

I am proud

Following on from Helen’s posts about going on holiday and holiday blues, we’re now back in rainy Scotland, having had a fabulous time away. It is hard to believe that Friday last week we were in Sweden, having swum in the sea! I am so very proud of myself for doing so, and I will tell you why.

Swimming

We both went swimming in the sea in Sweden a couple of years ago now. It was about 14 degrees in the water that day. For anyone wanting to know, this is cold. It is just enough to get in, get under the water then back out again, wrapping up warm very quickly. Helen took a few minutes to get in then spent about 20 minutes swimming and having fun. I thought she was crazy as it was far too cold, and as a Swede you just don’t do that when the temperature is so low.
However, I did not want to be beaten by a Scot. I decided I would get in too.

Too late to go back

I felt that I could not go back on my decision, but I had to go in. It was so cold! All the while she was just swimming around and having a great time. To cut it short, it took me about 15 minutes to get in the water. Once in, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Since then we often joke about this, her being a bit nuts for being in the water for so long when it is so cold, and the amount of time it took me to get in the water at all.

17 degrees

She wanted to go swimming again this year. On our day out last Friday we brought our stuff so we could go swimming if we found a suitable spot. It was also a bit drizzly that day and cold so not the best day for it. Towards late afternoon we got to a place called Norrkrog (have a look on Google maps here). I checked the water with a thermometer (very important to a Swede) and it was 17 degrees. So warmer than 14 but still freezing. It was also windy and the air temperature was cool. We got changed and Helen got almost straight in. I started to go in then felt that it was far too cold, that I’m stupid for getting in and that it will take forever to get in. I also did not want to spend 20 minutes trying to get in the water.

The power of the mind

I took a moment and said to myself “imagine if you just go straight in, how amazing would that be?” A part of me felt that it would actually be possible, and this made me excited. I knew I was going to get wet and cold but also how great would it not be? Finally swimming in the sea in Sweden with Helen, something we keep talking about!
So in I went. It took perhaps a couple of minutes, and not before running around acting silly. But in I went. I swam, I went under the water, I swam out to the jetty where Helen had set up camp whilst watching me getting in the water. And I felt so immensely proud of myself. I made the decision and acted on it straight away.

You might think it’s nothing

To me this is a massive thing to achieve. It shows that I am not the somewhat useless person I often think that I am, that my mind is actually great and I can do great things.
Over the last years I have learnt that this is what anxiety can do. It is not rational at all. There is no reasoning with it. I still have good and bad days, and I always will. And that is absolutely fine too.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Think of me when you’re relaxing and having a great time, I will be working in the rain outdoors around Glasgow. That is also absolutely fine, I might get wet but I will dry.

As always, please get in touch if you want to, for any reason at all. We are always here, happy to listen and to help.

-Rosita

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