365 STEPS TO SELF-CONFIDENCE
For the next seven days stop what you’re doing for five minutes a day,
be quiet and still, and listen in on your thoughts. Don’t try to interrupt:
just let the thoughts come and go of their own accord, as if they’re
happening to someone else.
You probably won’t find this easy at first. The untrained, unsettled
mind has a tendency to flit from one thing to another, and even 60
seconds’ conscious attention seems like an eternity when you’re not
used to it.53If you have a watch that bleeps on the hour, take this as a signal to stop
what you’re doing and practise mindfulness just for one minute. If safe
to do so, close your eyes and listen to the incessant chattering of the
mind. Then resume your activities.54Notice whether anyone with whom you come into contact, or specific
events, either affect you physically, trigger uncomfortable feelings, or
spark off a train of self-doubting thoughts. Make a written note of
anything significant.55Write down all the reasons why you would find it difficult to start
applying the Four Step Method right away. I bet you can’t think of any!
The Four Step Method is so easy!56