This process of focusing on the input, is not a novel one. But it’s almost often been a concept applied to “things” we’re chasing. Trophies, accolades, $, investments, wins, houses, cars, even weight loss. It’s not often applied to our mental health, & yet that’s where that formula potentially yields the greatest results.
Take how it’s been used in the past for those “things.” I’ve run sales depts for sports teams my whole career, & we’d teach a focus on the process, first: certain # of touch points (calls, emails, msgs, etc.) each day, certain # of “opportunities” opened, certain # of appointments scheduled, certain # of “breakup” msgs left after not hearing back from a prospect…essentially follow that input formula, & sales come as a result. Focusing each day on the $ figure you’re trying to bring in, relative to your goal, exclusively, & you lose sight of the process, & that’s the quickest way to lose flow, & NOT achieve goals.
If you reward yourself for sticking w the process, & that allows you a sense of accomplishment, you end up w an end result you wanted in the first place.
Same goes for making yourself get on the treadmill, even tho the scale may not say what you want it to each wk you weigh yourself. Eventually, be proud of the effort you made to get your butt working out consistently, & the weight comes off, over the long run.
But how often in MH, when it comes to the WORK it takes to heal, have you heard (or said to yourself), something like: “I tried meditation & it just doesn’t work for me.” Or “Yeah CBT/DBT/ACT takes a ton of commitment, & I end up thinking circularly & arnd the exercises, & those practices fail me.”
In MH, we have a sympathetic nervous system response. When something ISN’T going our way & we aren’t immediately getting the results we’re after, we get MORE frustrated, & our goal, “feeling better/healthier” eludes us even more.
When it comes to MH practices, or what we call STARR Exercises, the magic’s in the input. Stick to a routine & regimen & divorce yourself from measuring the outcomes. Your sympathetic response lowers & the exercises have a better chance to work!