Ep. 108 What Do I Actually Need? — The Progress Project

Ep. 108 What Do I Actually Need?

What do you actually need today? Are you actually giving yourself the things you truly need or are you getting caught up in distractions? In this episode, we’re talking about this question and all the ways in can apply in different areas of our lives for our benefit.

You’ll hear:

More about the concept of emotional alignment
Using self-inquiry to discover where we need something different
How to use this question to help you process feelings in a healthier way
How you can use this question to manage your time better and avoid distractions

Listen below or on iTunes & choose Episode 108

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Links Mentioned:

Ep. 104 Emotional Alignment - One of our most listened to episodes and one we reference a lot in this episode.
Be sure to grab our most popular free resource Create Your Own Mantra Guide to help you change your mindset so you can start feeling better.

Being Emotionally Aligned

Check out ep. 104 Emotionally Alignment to learn more about this concept.

Emotional Alignment: The ability to feel a general sense of contentment and wellbeing through the ups and downs of life. When we’re in emotional alignment, we recognize and appreciate the good and accept and process the bad without resistance.

Using self-inquiry to discover where you might need something different in your life. It can be helpful to think of emotional alignment like a wheel that needs all the pieces working for it to roll properly. Here’s an example, along with a blank wheel to fill in with what helps you be emotionally aligned:

How to use this question to help you process feelings in a healthier way

Feel a feeling

Sometimes what we “actually need” is to let it be bad, to feel an unpleasant feeling and take time to acknowledge it.

How to feel a feeling:

Don’t distract yourself from it
Breathe as you focus on what happened, the emotion it triggered, how it feels physically
Don’t feel the need to explore why you feel it or to justify it
It processes through and completes

How to stop wasting time and learn how to use your time better & avoid distractions

When we waste time, why are we doing it?

Often to avoid a negative feeling or boredom
Or because we’re avoiding/procrastinating

In those moments, asking “What do I actually need?” gives you a chance to re-calibrate and gently pull yourself back. Ask: Is this a distraction? Is this distracting me from who I really am and who I want to become?

Find out where else this question is effective in your life. It’s not about asking yourself a question and guilting yourself (“What is wrong with me?”) but about gently and patiently redirecting your mind to a better thing.