I caught myself having an inner rant yesterday. Do you ever have those? You know those times where you are having an indignant conversation with yourself about something that has frustrated you? Think driving, traffic jams and road rage. You are with me! I had got a text from a friend implying that she wasn’t around to meet up that evening after 6 when we had arranged to.
My rant was on the lines of ‘charming, so much for reliability, people not doing what they say they are going to do – whatever happened to integrity, bla bla bla.’ And then there was a counter rant. ‘Yes but remember to accept what is, you believe in that, things happen for a reason, rather than wrestling with it and creating unnecessary angst and stress.’ Then logic kicked in – ‘seek to understand before being understood’ (Stephen Covey, 7 habits of highly effective people), i.e. clarify; there is bound to be a good reason. She might have a medical emergency, one of her dogs/horses might be ill, the car has a flat tyre etc
So how do you manage inner rants? The first step is to notice them and catch yourself having circular or repetitive thoughts that are negative or unconstructive and choose to nip them in the bud. Creative approaches help. The other week I noticed negative circular thoughts occupying my mind. I decided to inwardly sing the Goons song ‘Ying Tong’ every time the thought appeared. Not only did I start laughing which shifted my mood, the song got shorter and shorter until it was ‘Ying’ and then finally ‘Y..’. Magic!
By the way my friend and I did meet up and we had a great night!
If you have regular inner rants about your job, boss or vocation, maybe it is time for a change? For more information about “Pain free career change” download our free 30 page report “Pain free career change.” http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/