Have you ever noticed how you can sail along feeling fine until the mind chatter kicks in and convinces you otherwise? It's remarkable. One of my male clients reported recently about a party he and his girlfriend attended. He had a really good time, and when they left, his girlfriend told him she'd observed another man at the party being rude to him. She couldn't believe her boyfriend had had a good time. "He was so unpleasant to you! That had to bother you!" My client was surprised, since he hadn't perceived the other guy's comment as rude at all. After a few minutes of listening to his girlfriend rant about the poor behavior of the other man, my client started to feel negative, and changed his opinion about his experience at the party. He told me, "I thought I had had a good time, but now I think I should have felt differently." In other words, all was well until his girlfriend's mind chatter ignited his own and he unfortunately bought into it.

The mind can sometimes be a wonderful, creative instrument. However usually, the inner dialogue is anything but constructive. Remember - you are not your mind, and never let yourself be tricked by it.