The guilt loop and how to avoid it

Posted on by philipdodson

Often, we get stuck in a guilt loop in life.

When we are supposed to be relaxing, we are feeling guilty about the stuff we didn’t do, when we were working. Therefore, we do not relax, we are not in the moment and we are stressed and feel guilty about all the things we could have done.

When we get back to work, instead of being productive, we feel resentful toward work because we did not get to relax. Thus we start putting things off again and feel unmotivated to do our work.

Then, we get to relaxation time again, and no surprise, we do not relax as the guilt comes back about not working and all things we should have done while we were meant to be working.

There are some simple ways to get out of this.

Firstly, when we are working, organise our time effectively to prioritise things that really matter, thus avoiding low-hanging easy and repetitive tasks, focusing using our very best deep work on the high-value task that makes a difference. As a consequence of our more focused deep work on high stuff, we do less, but get a greater return for that focused effort as we are doing the most important stuff.

We actually end up with more time to relax and we get quality relaxation time as we do not feel guilty, we have done the important stuff, the stuff that enables us to have relaxation time to enjoy.

Secondly, our worth as a person is never determined by anything, it is unconditional. Therefore, if we do not get something done, there is no reason to feel guilt.

Thirdly, if we do the most important stuff and stop feeling guilty and worthy instead no matter what, we not only get better at our work, but we get even better at enjoying relaxation time. This leads us to do even better work and then we are able to have even more relaxation time.

We swap a guilt loop with a joy loop.

What would happen if I disconnected from the matrix?

Posted on by philipdodson

The collective mind comes to us via many different forms such as other people, the media both mainstream and social, the internet, and other forms of collective communication. It is a matrix of thoughts, all based on fear that is magnified from the individual minds to become one giant collective fear. 

This fear-based flow of thoughts, opinions, demands and hatred is totally invasive and leads to a complete overwhelm for most of us. However, because we are individually part of this matrix with our own mind feeding this collective and running on unconscious fear-based agendas, we actually need this collective mind. We are overwhelmed and exhausted by it, yet at the same time addicted to it.

What if we switched it off? Disconnected from it? What if we stopped watching the news and TV? Switched our phones off? Stopped reading the newspaper? Stopped listening to the radio news? Stepped away from the drama of others and their fears? What if we choose to disconnect from the collective mind? What if we left the matrix?

Well, from my experience and that of talking to others who have done that to a greater or lesser extent, the answer is you are happier, more joyful, more conscious, you are no longer overwhelmed or fearful, and you spend more time doing and just being.

Has the world ended? No. Did you miss anything that was important? No. When you do occasionally reconnect, is it the same shit just a different date? Yes.

Overwhelm and suffering within are self-inflicted by our choice to connect and stay connected to the collective mind and all its fears.