A Word From Our Sponsor

May 23, 2009

Any Canadian of a certain age will remember these 1-minute commercials that aired on CBC television.

The music and the tone of voice instantly transports me back to our large living room where you see the ivy edging along the three walls and our black and white TV with the rabbit ears. There I am, sitting on that knobbly green couch watching some of my favourite shows while having an after-school snack of Puffed Wheat Squares. Since we only had one channel, I often fidgeted through the commercials which included:

See how easy it is to recall these? Repetition (drills) do work!

This has me thinking about our own "commercials" - the ones in which we write the script and star. How often are we running them? Are they "selling" something we really need? Are you able to easily "change the channel?"

Negative thinking creates stress. It is synonymous with that bad commercial that is continually playing. Over time, you have no trouble recalling the words of this particular commercial...it's almost as if you go looking for that word from your "sponsor" (you).

Be aware of how often the ad is playing and just what it is selling. Things like:

  • I'm so stupid, ugly, fat, bad....
  • How could I have done that, again?
  • I'm afraid to make a mistake.
  • I'll never get this!

These types of thoughts create stress within the body - a cascade of 1400 chemical changes that wears out our nervous system and sets us up for ill health. It is wasted energy that could be better put to use doing the things you really love to do.

Learn to change the channel and hear these jingles instead:

  • I'm looking forward to the challenge of_________
  • Look at how far I've progressed!
  • I'm satisfied with my work.
  • I really handled that situation well.

When you have less mess with stress you'll be airing a different commercial...one that makes life worth living.

Now, where is that remote?