What gets in the way is our opinion.  “This shouldn’t be!” the Drunk Monkey screams.  But if you look at the history of your life you will see that all great obstacles were necessary to get you where you are today.  Destruction is the beginning of creation and creation is the beginning of destruction.  When you create, you push up against the status quo and that creates opposition.

If you are feeling opposition to your goals, then you are on your way.

a.  Notice the body reacting negatively.  Most positive people avoid negative feelings.  A more powerful thing to do is to feel them completely to understand the feeling.  Rather than resisting it or denying it, feel it fully from a detached observer point of view.

b.  Step back and see the whole situation.  See the upsetting situation from all points of view and notice that the anger, fear etc dissipates quickly.

In the anger is automatic.  Happiness, peace, joy and all the other positive emotions are chosen.

New life come with a hefty price. It is destructive. Your old life will fight back, push you down and tell you that you can’t have what you want.

In those moments you must learn to tame The Drunk Monkey and take a stand for what you believe is possible. It’s not easy, it’s not effortless and it’s not enjoyable. It’s scary and hard. But the reward of your new life is worth the temporary pain and destruction. So go for it.

Are you willing to take a stand for the life you want?

Happiness and success occur when you are totally responsible for your life in every way.  Meaning, no one and nothing out there in the world have dominion over you.

Do you have control over the world?  Not always.  But do you have control over your experience of the world?  Yes.  How you choose to view a situation determines your actions which influences the results.  When you take the blame for everything that occurs in your life, when you declare yourself responsible for the experience you are having, you can turn lemons into lemonade.

The Drunk Monkey strikes again.  Fear and doubt are important mechanisms of The Drunk Monkey (your mind).  Fear and doubt are guiding forces away from potential danger.  The problem for most people, including my client, is that life is not dangerous at all.  Not knowing what to do with your life is not dangerous.  Therefore when you are in fear and doubt just notice how you are hallucinating that something bad is going to happen and you are avoiding that illusion.

The second part of my client’s statement is “Why can’t my life be easy like other people?”.  Again, this is a misperception.  After coaching more than 8300 people to achieve happiness and success I can tell you with certainty that lives look easy on the outside but everyone’s monkey makes it difficult on the inside.

Life isn’t hard.  Your resistance to what life is makes it hard.  If you will pause and see The Drunk Monkey madness in your head for what it is, then you will be able to let it go and move forward again.

Negativity is neutralized by becoming aware of its source.  I define negativity as the resistance you have to what is so.  Life is just lifing along and then you are resisting what ever it is doing.  The past is simply a figment of your imagination that you are now resisting.  The future is a hallucination you are having that you are resisting.  People are just doing whatever they are doing and you are reacting to your opinion of what they are doing.  It’s not what they are doing that bothers you, it is your opinion about what they are doing that is bothering you.

In a nutshell, your opinion is the source of your negativity.  And where does this opinion come from?  Your infinite wisdom?  NO!  The Drunk Monkey in your head!!!!  All hail the great and wise Drunk Monkey.  You have been conditioned like a dog to think that “this is the right way to pee!  That is the right way to dress!  Those are the right behaviors!”  But all of that is just your parents or whoever raised you doing their best to get you ready for life.  What you believe about the world is not the truth.  What you believe is just conditioning.  Today, just roll with life and watch negativity dissipate before your eyes.

CAN YOU BE WITH HOW LIFE ACTUALLY IS?

The Drunk Monkey

The Drunk Monkey in your head is trying to keep you safe from a world that isn’t dangerous. Over and over again, The Drunk Monkey chants affirmations about how this person is a jerk, the economy is going to get us all and if you don’t be careful, you are going down.

If you really listen to the talking in your head, then you will see that it is not on your side. The Drunk Monkey doesn’t want you to be happy and stress free. The Drunk Monkey want to keep you safe. Anger, doubt, fear, stress, anxiety, frustration and all the other negative emotions are the tools The Drunk Monkey uses to move your body and get you in action.

Today, just notice it and don’t react.

Today, notice how the chatter and images in your head are not real.

My philosophy has developed over the last 20 years and in that time I’ve seen that awareness gives you flexibility. When you see The Drunk Monkey for what it is, you are more flexible in situations that you would normally be stuck in. That flexibility gives you more options. The person who has the most options has the most power.

Today just be aware of The Drunk Monkey. That alone is the cure to all negativity.