Up to this point, we've been talking about a whole bunch of things, from squeezing oranges and riding elephants to breathing through straws and buried Treasure. You're probably thinking 'enough already'.
Okay, enough talk. It's time to get into the process of Look In & Learn so you can try it on yourself. To begin, you need to have two things: an understanding of the importance of writing and a situation to analyze.
Seeing in the Dark – The Importance of Writing
Imagine for a minute that you are in a completely dark room. All you have is a flashlight. There is no other light in the room. Your task is to describe the room in exact detail to a person waiting outside. Once you leave the room, you can't go back in. How would you do it?
Well, you could try remembering all the details of the room in your head as you slowly moved the flashlight around the room. But if the room is big enough chances are you will forget something by the time you leave. A better solution -- write it down.
When it comes to analyzing complicated issues, like the specific thoughts you have that are prompting an emotional action, it is very much like being in a dark room. The 'flashlight' (your focused attention) can only illuminate a portion of the problem at a time. Often the root system of thinking behind an emotion tends to be more complex than you originally anticipated and can go deeper than you expect.
Writing makes the process easier. It is like taking a picture of your mind. It is your thoughts frozen at a moment in time. When you write, thoughts flow from your mind, through your hand, into the pages and then stay there. They get locked in place.
Putting each piece on paper allows you to see the whole picture at once. Now you can more easily analyze how each piece fits together and where there are problems. If you don't write it down, it's like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle just by looking at it. It's too hard. Once you lay out all the pieces, it becomes clear how things fit together and to see what you might be overlooking.
If you don't write down your ideas, you can't hope to solve your problems. Otherwise, you are simultaneously asking the brain to hold specific ideas in your mind at one time while you try to analyze them. It's too much processing to ask your brain to do.
Make things easy on yourself – write it down.
Picking a Situation -- Start with What Comes Fastest
You might think that picking your biggest and hardest problems first is the best place to start. That, by doing the big stuff first, you will solve your problems faster. This might not be the best strategy. Let me give you an analogy.
Imagine if you have never lifted weights. You decide you are going to start weightlifting, so you head to the gym. And then you try lifting 300 pounds. What do you think the outcome will be? If you don't end up hurting yourself, the most likely result is that you will develop bad habits.
The same thing is true for mental 'weightlifting'. The reason you don't start with the hardest issues in your life is that you aren't ready for them. Those problems and traumas are very complicated and difficult to resolve.
Instead, pick something that kind of bothers you. It could be a mistake, something that is nagging at you, something you wish you could change, something someone said to you that you can't let go, something you said to someone else and feel bad about...whatever. Pick something where, when you think about it, you get a sharp pang of 'ugh'. Doesn't feel great? Good. Start with that.
Process for Look In & Learn
I've always liked lists. Especially short ones. Thankfully Look In & Learn fits the bill. The whole process is only these four steps:
YOU ARE READING
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