{"id":14260,"date":"2022-02-24T12:19:55","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T17:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osborne-group.com\/?p=14260"},"modified":"2022-02-24T15:22:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T20:22:08","slug":"strengthen-mental-fitness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.osborne-group.com\/fr\/strengthen-mental-fitness\/","title":{"rendered":"Strengthen Mental Fitness by Understanding Push Versus Pull"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cPush versus pull\u201d has been on my mind lately because I\u2019ve had writer\u2019s block\u2014a problem that I have had often in the past.<\/p>\n

Looking for a solution, last fall I signed up for a writing class. The class had really helped me free up my creativity. I had been writing with greater ease.<\/p>\n

But somewhere over the holidays, I let my saboteurs get the upper hand. No amount of scheduling, time blocking or to-do lists, all left-brain solutions, were helping. Then, while meditating, I had the realization that the problem was that I was trying to push myself into writing. Instead, I needed to find the reason that would pull me gently back to it.<\/p>\n

Let me explain the “push versus pull.”<\/p>\n

Saboteurs<\/a>, our inner negative voices, work by pushing<\/em> us into action by using anger, stress, fear, and guilt. For example, the Controller saboteur uses feelings of imminent danger, to push us to control ourselves, other people and our environment. A Pleaser saboteur will remind us constantly that if we\u2019re not putting others first then we won\u2019t be loved or appreciated. Any time we put our own needs first will be met with guilt or shame that can push us back to pleasing others first.<\/p>\n

These feelings pushing us to action are very unpleasant. My personal experience is that when my Avoider and my Restless saboteurs are at work, I feel anxious, unsettled, and miserable. I might get things done but the experience is one of high stress and unhappiness instead of focus and flow.<\/p>\n

Being pulled<\/em> towards action is a different feeling entirely. When we are pulled, it\u2019s our sage brain that pulls us towards actions, goals, and behaviours that are in alignment with our values. Our right brain capacity for compassion, curiosity, the joy of self-expression, and the like pull us into pleasurable action; action without judgment, stress, or obligation.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re wondering how to know when you\u2019re being pushed rather than pulled and how to make the switch, consider signing up for my new Mental Fitness group<\/a> starting March 12.<\/p>\n

You can think about mental fitness as a kind of spring cleaning:<\/p>\n