Face Your Personal Demons

Personal Demons are things that haunt us. They might be fears; like fear of failure, fear of success, fear of intimacy, or fear of being alone. They might be feelings of inferiority, inadequacy, self-loathing, or even of being trapped. Personal demons can be habits that are harmful to ourselves and others or they could be secrets that are tearing us apart.

You understand that personal demons are things that stand in the way of your ability to live a fulfilled life. They can mess up relationships. They can keep you from holding a steady job. They can cause depression. They wreak havoc on your dreams.

You Must Exorcise Your Personal Demons!

Get rid of them! Throw them out! Tell them, “Leave now and never come back!”

But here’s the uncomfortable bit. Your personal demons only haunt you because you allow them to. They have no power unless you give it to them. It’s like in the old vampire movies where vampires couldn’t enter your home unless you invited them in. Your personal demons are living in your mind because you’ve invited them in.

What?

I know, that’s not what you expected. But it’s the truth. If you’re reading this I’m certain you’re ready to hear it. More importantly, you’re ready to do something about it.

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any time.—Albert Ellis

Think of it this way, two people are on a roller coaster. They’re sitting in the same car, side by side. One of them is pale and sweating from fear. The other is flush with excitement. The coaster climbs to the top, plummets. It slams through corners. It races over hills. Both people are thrown right, then left, then right. The coaster hits a loop, one final corner, and then comes to a stop on the platform. They both get off the ride. The first person is shaky, with red rimmed eyes, and shallow breath. The second person is whooping and hollering, rearing to go again.

What’s the difference? Both of them rode the same roller coaster. But both of them experienced it differently.

The difference is how they interpreted or internalized the event, the meaning they gave it. It’s the same way with our personal demons. They key is our minds, our thinking. What we do mentally with the things that happen to us determines how these things affect us in the future. How we internalize things can either create personal demons or give new meaning to our lives.

It’s our choice.

Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be.—Dr. Wayne Dyer

Here’s a process you can use to help exorcise some—maybe all—of your personal demons. It’s one that I’m passionate about because it helped me overcome severe depression and suicidal thoughts years ago. It’s also one of the first things I learned that helped me start truly changing my life. It’s called the Cognitive Thinking Process. Once I was introduced to—and started using—this method it was like beams of sunlight casting shadows of despair from my mind.

 

The Cognitive Thinking Process:

When any unwanted, disempowering or negative thought comes into your mind, apply the following rules to it:

1. Ask yourself, “Is it true?” (Is this reality or imagined?)

1.a Refuse to deal with any thought until you know whether it is true.

1.b If  you  aren’t sure  if  it  is  true  then  either throw it away or go find the truth. (Throwing it away means redirecting your thoughts as we discussed above.)

2. If it is true, then ask yourself, “Whose problem is it?”

2.a Whoever can make a decision to fix the problem owns it.

2.b If you can fix it, own it.

2.c If you can’t do anything about it, then throw it away or give it to the person who owns it. (Giving it to the person who owns it means allowing them to deal with the situation.)

3. If it is true and you own it, then ask yourself, “Am I doing my best?”

3.a If you are doing your best then keep doing that.

3.b If you aren’t doing your best, then figure out what else you need to do and do it.

3.c Only you and God (or your higher power) can know if you are doing your best.

 

That seems like a lot to think about.

But as you do this more and more, it becomes easy. Soon you’ll discover using the Cognitive Thinking Process is habit.

I’ve created a downloadable .pdf of The Cognitive Thinking Process. Click the link to download it. Then print it and put it in a place where you’ll see it often!

Remember

You Are The Master of Your Destiny!

Roland