I have written about this before, but I had a highlight today that I wanted to share. During my meditation this morning I was going through my normal annoying mind chatter and stumbled upon something a little abnormal for me.

The first 5 minutes of my mediation process goes something like this:

Did I pay that bill? Not yet, I better do that tomorrow. What about the others that are supposed to come in this week. I better……… STOP, I see you random thought. Now it’s time to get back to work.

20 seconds later: what about the dogs? Have they been fed yet. I bet they weren’t fed…. STOP. I see you random thought.

This process goes on until I really get settled into the process. These thoughts aren’t to be ignored, but to be noticed. More on that some other day.

While I was running through my mind chatter management, I noticed that one of my thoughts was to frame my future interaction with someone. I was expecting to have a conversation with someone later in the day and I played it out in my mind. But, instead of thinking of the challenges, I thought of how I was going to bolster the conversation. I was actively framing this moment in a really positive way.

Okay, you’re probably wondering why that is important. I agree that it sounds like nothing. But, everyday for lots of months, I have wrestled with constant mind chatter at the beginning of my meditation sits. It’s always the same old tired crap of running through my list of insignificant things. Today I noticed that my mindfulness work has paid off and my psyche has been trained to do something good for me instead of protecting me from “harm.” Throughout my days I actively think of upcoming conversations and situations and look for ways to improve my outlook, but doing subconsciously is a lot different. That is big for me.

Your hard work is not going unnoticed in your own mind. Showing up for yourself every day adds more and more proof that you keep your promises. One day soon, before you know it, your life will just be different. The lagging indicators are subtle, but evident, if you are aware enough to notice.