In any given tricky moment, millions of others are experiencing their version of your frustration, disappointment or panic. Her book вЂ Rising StrongвЂ™В takes a clear compassionate look at the how we can transform the stories we tell ourselves to try to make sense of difficult experiences large and small. Dr BrenГ© BrownвЂ™s three stage process, which she describes as вЂthe reckoning, the rumble and the revolutionвЂ™, resonates with me. If you can keep вЂIвЂ™ and myвЂ™ out of your noting and naming, this helps to stop the story in its tracks.

HmmmвЂ¦ вЂThereвЂ™s back acheвЂ™, вЂthereвЂ™s frustrationвЂ™, вЂthereвЂ™s hurtвЂ™ and so on. Recognise and label it in an open, curious way. Step back and acknowledge the thought or the feeling. Here are some of my favourite ways to stop tricky moments turning into difficult days.ДЇirst up, note whatвЂ™s happening. Left unchecked though they can escalate into a really bad day! Most of these are fleetingly mind-clenching moments of self doubt, grumpiness or occasional fury. Anything from spilling coffee on my new white shirt, getting cut off in traffic, arriving late to a meeting, a casual or calculated critical remark from a colleague, and so on. As a result IвЂ™m keen to explore ways to manage it mindfully вЂ“ along with all the other random irritations that can erupt in a typical day. I accept that IвЂ™m destined to deal with my bad back for a very long time. Just to be clear here, IвЂ™m not for a minute downplaying the impact that pain of any kind can have on our lives.

My challenge is to reroute this negative train of thought before it derails my entire day. вЂAgainвЂ™, вЂalways вЂand вЂforeverвЂ™ signal inevitability and offer me zero prospect of escape. Frustration, guilt, vulnerability and fear for the future all loom large. The elements in this woeful story are pretty universal. Why does this always happen? Is it going to last forever? What have I done to deserve this? I canвЂ™t do anything when IвЂ™m in pain. IвЂ™m not in pain all the time but when I am, my mind loves to spear off on a story fraught with fear and panic. I love a bar or restaurant with high stools where I can stand inconspicuously. IвЂ™m the person standing at the back of the room in training courses. IвЂ™m a grateful early adopter of the standing desk. Not every thought to every thought succeeds indifferently.Anyone who has spent more than an hour with me knows that I have a bad back. When a man thinketh on anything whatsoever, his next thought after is not altogether so casual as it seems to be. The term 'train of thoughts' was introduced and elaborated as early as in 1651 by Thomas Hobbes in his Leviathan, though with a somewhat different meaning:Д«y Consequence, or train of thoughts, I understand that succession of one thought to another which is called, to distinguish it from discourse in words, mental discourse. When a reader or listener 'loses the train of thought', comprehension is lost of the expressed or unexpressed thought. The train of thought, stream of thought', chain of thought or trail of thought refers to the interconnection in the sequence of ideas expressed during a connected discourse or thought, as well as the sequence itself, especially in discussion how this sequence leads from one idea to another. Freebase (0.00 / 0 votes) Rate this definition:

The thought train