There is a wonderful Zen story of two monks who are travelling together. They come to a river with strong currents and as they prepare to cross, they see a beautiful young woman who asks for help getting across. The monks have a vow not to touch women but, without a word, the older monk picks up the young woman, carries her across, places her gently on the other side and carries on his 
journey.

The younger monk is outraged and stews silently for hours until he finally blurts out, “As monks, we are not permitted to touch a woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?” The older monk looks at him and replies, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you still carrying her?”

2016 is the end of a nine year cycle in Numerology, and in honour of that, my theme for the year has been, “Put it Down!” A big ask for someone with the knack of winding herself up into a mental frenzy. It has gone failry well, so here are some of the things I have done to help  'put down' what I needed to let go of.

Firstly, it helps to understand that thinking endless about things we cannot change, especially at 3am in the morning, weakens us physically, mentally and emotionally. This is a critical issue, we have to deeply 'get' that going over and over painful situations in our mind is harmful. It hurts you. You have to stop. It's that simple.

A quote I heard recently sums it up beautifully. “The goal of meditation isn't to control your thoughts, it's to stop letting them control you.” Mindfulness is how we do that. By paying attention to our thoughts, we give ourselves the space to choose whether this train of thinking is one we actually want to ride, or not.

We are all so unique that we need a personal tool-kit, a box of tricks, if you like, to nudge our minds in a new direction and change the course of our thinking. Some of what works for me is music, writing, gratitude and appreciation, rescue remedy for when the going is really tough, talking to a friend, movies, reciting mantras and, of course, reminding myself to PUT IT DOWN!

Do something, anything that stops the train of thought you are on and purposely think about something that empowers and strengthens you. Now is the time to let go of habits that are holding you back.  If you want some help, add life coaching to your tool box and email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Skype .