Strategy #4 for strengthening relationship with conscience: Focus on what is important.

People who suffer from schizophrenia hear voices in their head. Actually, we all hear voices. We just don’t speak their messages out loud. We don’t act on them. We know that they are not a true reflection of reality.  But the running commentary is there all the time.

Knowing that these thoughts are not worth taking seriously does not mean you should not pay attention to what they are saying.  Watch your thoughts from the outside and see what happens. Stop for a few minutes and just observe your thoughts. One example of a type of thought pattern that might emerge is complaint.

You can always find something to complain about. Something is wrong in the situation. There is something you don’t like about what other people are doing. You would do things differently. You are annoyed, critical and impatient.

When you observe what your thoughts are, they don’t take control of you. They dissipate.

Then you can ask yourself, ‘What is important?’ You will find that the complaint was not important. The complaint was a result of your own perfectionism, impatience or lack of acceptance of what is. What is important is how your presence adds value to the situation and to the relationship.