Why Your Problems Are Not Nearly as Permanent as They Seem

“When we…go back into the past and rake up all the troubles we’ve had, we end up reeling and staggering through life. Stability and peace of mind come by living in the moment.” 


~Pam Vredevelt


There is a way in which we tend to view issues in our lives that makes it seem like the issue is a big, scary monster that chases us around everywhere we go.
We have commitment issues. Or we are bad with money. Or we have an eating disorder, we drink too much, or we follow-through too seldom.


We view ourselves and our lives as if they are stable, consistent entities that probably can change, but rarely do. We surely never change without considerable time, money, or effort.

If you’re too loud or not careful enough, the monster will wake up and be right at your back again. So there’s no resting, really. You never get too comfortable. I know I certainly never got too comfortable; always looking over my shoulder for the next time the monster would catch up with me. 

 You hold in the back of your mind the image of that monster waking up and beginning to run after you again.

You Can Only Feel What You Think

Your moment-to-moment experience is a reflection of your moment-to-moment thinking. Said another way, what you feel is only and always what you happen to be (consciously and unconsciously) thinking.

 When the thoughts you are experiencing seem like stable truth, you’re naturally locked into them. You elaborate on them, take them seriously, and inevitably act on them.

There Is No Monster

when you’re not thinking about your monster, your monster does not exist.

When you’re thinking about your commitment phobia, how your parents damaged you for life, how you’re an incurable alcoholic, or how horrible you’ve always been with money, those issues (monsters) are alive for you in that moment.

 It’s not that the monster is asleep, waiting to strike. It’s that the monster literally does not exist.

You see, each moment of your life, you start anew. The inner slate of your mind is wiped clear.

But actually, we have infinite potential for brand new thought, which equals infinite potential for brand new experience. We tend to get more new thought when we know that.

Nothing is actually carried over from the past. Rather you might think right now about the past, but that’s just where your thoughts wandered.


There is no monster. There never was. There’s only what we think, now. And then now. And then now.
Of course, thoughts of our “problems” will drift into our mind. We’re only human.
But because we see that they will also drift right out, there’s no reason to keep constantly looking over our shoulder.

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