Negativity Bias: Why Bad Days Stick and What to Do with Michael Henri

0:00 Hey there, before we get started on this week's episode, I would love to ask for your support by reviewing this podcast. We want to share yoga with as many people as possible and this free resource, this podcast is one of the ways that we can do that. And the best way that you can help support us is by giving us a review.

0:16 So if you go to Apple podcast or Spotify or whatever podcast platform you use, Scroll down until you find that star review and then give us some love. Thank. You so. Much and let's get started with this week's episode. Hey everyone, welcome to welcome back to the In Movement podcast. Michael Henry here.

0:34 Just going to add a little short segment bonus episode if you will, mostly just cause of something that real that happened. And I thought I'd share it because it's very relevant to the theme of this month, which is very much about stability, root chakra, home groundedness, centeredness. And how this relates to my day is, you know, when you wake up in the morning and you're not really sure how the day is going to go, and then you just kind of start moving and you start doing things.

1:09 And then sometimes it takes a turn and then, you know, it kind of carries on. That energy kind of carries on with you for the remainder of the day, positive or negative, maybe even neutral in this situation. So for me, I woke up this morning feeling pretty neutral at 1st and then I was kind of excited, You know, when I had AI, had a package that I knew had arrived and I hadn't opened it yet. So I kind of got up, did my little routine, drank my water, had my, you know, my little

1:38 supplements and things like that, did my little morning responsibilities. And then I was like, OK, cool, I'm going to sit down and open up this package. And I'm excited about it. I've been looking forward to it all day or all night, I should suppose, basically since I ordered it. And when I opened it up and started to kind of rummage through it and kind of look at the product that I'd ordered, it was unfortunately disappointing and not what I wanted and wasn't actually working.

2:02 And it kind of like just put me into this like spiral of like feeling down and low. I'm kind of disappointed, upset, frustrated, kind of like upset with the vendor, you know, And I went through the whole process of like filing the complaint and, you know, trying to figure out how to like return it and get my money back. And it cost a couple $100.00.

2:24 So it was, you know, it was a big thing. And I'm just sitting with my emotion and I'm just kind of upset, right? I'm frustrated, I'm mad, I'm, you know, disappointed, all these things. And I'm kind of like, it sits with you.

2:35 Like it's great to call those things out, but I'm actually like feeling this thing in the moment and I just feel super unsettled, ungrounded, no longer neutral, no longer even positive, just kind of like a net negative overall.

2:49 And it, it was early in the morning. It was like 7:00 AM, This is all happening. And then I was just thinking about the rest of my day and I was just feeling a bit low. And I was just like, this kind of stinks, you know, And then it starts raining and, you know, and I was supposed to have a scheduled massage today in the morning, which I was also looking forward to.

3:05 And then that got cancelled because the masseuse had a family emergency, which is of course acceptable. But, you know, just the day just kind of kept going with a little bit of hit after hit after hit. And I know that people can relate to this because this isn't the first time it's happened to me. And I know people sometimes just feel like they're getting, you know, hit with things often.

3:25 Now, a lot of my story and things that I'm sharing are obviously very minor with regards to larger problems that exist in the world. But the truth is, is we still all face these little challenges that are moments of suffering that we kind of need to deal with.

3:44 And, you know, I was having a chat with Christina this morning, who was also feeling a little bit low. And she started to think about like, well, what are some of the lessons she learned from Vipassa, Vipassa Meditation retreat, 10 days Meditation, which she did a few months ago.

4:01 And the lesson that she pulled out of that was that humans are the creators of their own suffering. And I was thinking about that in addition to the story of my morning. And I thought, you know what? I would like to talk about it and share with you guys because, yeah, often times, we are the creators of our own suffering Because like, you know, I woke up, everything's good.

4:25 You know, it's raining. Maybe it's a blessing. You know, this package thing didn't happen. My massage got cancelled. But like, all those things are related to expectations. They're related to desires and wants, and that's often where a lot of our pain and suffering comes from is those desires and those wants.

4:43 And so if I kind of just like roughly almost like rebooted my mind to just be like, you know what, Who cares about any of that stuff? You know, what's the most important thing in life? And that is, you know, connection. That is love.

4:57 And that's kind of, you know, just enjoying life as much as you can, whatever's in front of you. And of course, there's a lot of uncertainty in the world right now with wars and things happening in the Middle East. So I think about some of the people that are there and that are dealing with some of that stuff.

5:13 And then I think about my problems and I'm just like, my God, you know, So minute, so minute in the things that I'm complaining about that's making me feel low. So of course, intellectually that helps me to get a little bit closer to feeling less negative little bit, let's say above neutral if or maybe just even slightly neutral about the day. And then it came to me that's like, you know what, Not every day needs to feel like the best day 'cause they're, you know, we're humans, we have emotions

5:41 that kind of go up and down like waves or like a roller coaster in times. And some days just feel better than others. And whether it's for reasons related to our own desires and wants, if it's related to expectations, if it's related to some people might, you know, blame the stars and the moon and the planets for that.

6:04 But ultimately, at the end of the day, we still have to move forward. We still have to proceed through the day. We still need to enjoy the day in whatever way we can. So to me, I kind of switched my brain around and said, well, you know, the day's going to happen regardless or not. I started off on the right foot.

6:22 But then, you know, took off from the wrong foot after that. And then it kind of stuck with me, you know, So why did the negative stick with me? It's like, OK, sure, there's, you know, probably some emotional patterns and stuff there that are kind of making it more challenging.

6:34 But how do I get through this? And I just kept telling myself, well, no matter what, I just got to keep moving forward. So I'm going to continue to do the things that I was planning on doing today. And even though they may not feel as excited or I might not feel like my baseline is, let's say, a positive or even more neutral or slightly neutral for the day, I can still just try to put a smile on my face when I'm doing things, try to come back to love in my heart, and then

7:05 just get through the day. And knowing that every single day is different. And when I go to sleep at night and I wake up the next day, it'll be a whole new day, a whole new experience. But you know, if today was my only day that I had on this earth and I still had to do all of the things, all of my responsibilities, how am I going to live through this day? Am I going to dread it?

7:25 Am I going to drag my feet? Am I going to just kind of be bitter about the world? Or am I going to be able to find joy in the things and the responsibilities that I still have to do despite the the foot that I LED with this morning and and how I kind of created this own spiral of disappointment and feeling upset, frustration and so on.

7:47 So I thought that was a cool little lesson that I'm going to carry out throughout the day. And even just talking about it to you guys, I feel like I'm being witnessed. Even though this recording won't be sent out until later.

7:58 I already feel like I'm being witnessed and seen by hearing you guys hearing my voice. So that is already helping me to get through the remainder of the day. So thank you for tuning in for this short little episode. I just thought I'd share that. I thought it'd be helpful for somebody out there. And otherwise, Yeah, best thing I'm going to do now is probably take a few breaths, reconnect to myself, to my body, to the earth.

8:22 Even though it's raining outside, Maybe I'll go stand in the rain. That'll help. Ultimately, accepting the reality as it is is where I'm at now. So again, thank you so much for tuning in for this short episode. And I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day.

8:36 Take care.