How Does This Help Me?
Sometimes we experience situations where we spiral. We know when we’re in that state. The key is to identify those states and use those states as a trigger to ask the question, How Does This Help Me?
You know whether you’re in a positive or negative state. Identification usually isn’t the hard part. The challenge is having the awareness that you’ve entered such a state. The shift in states can happen beneath the surface of consciousness.
It takes a bit of time to train the mind and build up the habit to have those states act as a trigger for asking the right questions.
One of the most valuable habits that Ray Dalio says he developed is using pain as a trigger for quality reflection. You can use negative emotional states generally to trigger questions.
Some examples include envy, resentment, revenge, self pity. These emotions really don’t serve much purpose and the reason for entering such a state can be the result of a variety of things including misfortune, tragedy, or some other hardship.
When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves — Viktor E. Frankl
Action
Initially it won’t feel like it makes much of a difference. Let’s say that you’re feeling envious of a close friend that just had a successful IPO and…
