The Game-Changing, Daily Process I Use to Get Out of My Way: Transcending Toxic Emotions

If I can learn to do this, you can, too

As a younger man, I used to be afraid and worry a lot. All of the lower emotions I'm about to portray held me back from being my best. But over the years, I've made some significant progress one day at a time.

Here's a small example. One day about fifteen years ago, after practicing meditation and a similar process to the one you see below, I realized, "Cliff, you're not biting your nails." I had quit drinking alcohol and was improving many aspects of my life.

One of the many revelations I've experienced doing the inner work was realizing that I had stopped biting my nails. Eventually, I stopped being afraid, impatient, and angry.

Doing the work pays dividends if you can stick with it long enough without being attached to outcomes or timelines. Many of us expect too much, too soon.

That's why patience will always be a virtue.

Choose process, and progress, not perfection

You're about to learn one of the most essential processes I use daily to help myself transcend my lower emotions, such as fear, anger, shame, guilt, regret, and resentment. If you're like me, certain personalities, places, and things bother me.

It's no fun to be bothered, arguing with reality, and chasing the wind. I know because I've tried. And one of the worst things we can do is harbor resentments. My worksheet works wonders with that.

Like the rest of us, I often got in my way

I used to beat the crap out of myself for not being good enough, winning enough, making enough, having enough, and so on. In turn, I projected what I didn't like onto others. I learned that everything I dislike about others is within me; otherwise, I would not be able to recognize it.

Eventually, when I got sick of beating myself, I committed to change

I found help, which made all the difference, one day at a time, by helping me focus on replacing negative habits and patterns with super-healthy ones.

We can't change our nature, but we can change how we see and interact with the insane world. (It's always been this way.)

Let's touch on human emotions, energy

Whether you believe it or not, we're bundles of light and dark energy particles. We have souls, and souls are eternal. We're energy in motion.

We're also the only animals roaming the planet with the benefit and curse of a self-aware consciousness. If you study the headlines, best-selling books, teachers, coaches, and spiritual leaders who aren't trying to steal our money and peace of mind, you will see that we struggle to understand what consciousness is, where it comes from, and how it works.

There are many opinions, models, and ways of interpreting consciousness

Naturally, having studied consciousness, psychology, history, philosophy, and the branch of it called metaphysics, I needed to hack a model I could use for myself, and share as I see fit.

I call my model the Ladder of Consciousness. The image below shows it, and we can relate to the various emotions as we climb the ladder to transformation or transcendence.

Our purpose is to climb the Ladder of Consciousness one day at a time

Don't most of us want the same thing called inner peace? To get it, even though it can be fleeting, we need to know it's possible and how to do the work. "It" goes by many names, as with God.

• Carl Jung calls it Individuation.
• Abraham Maslow calls it Self-Actualization.
• In Buddhism, it's called Enlightenment.
• For some Christian sects, it's called Illumination.
• The Eastern Orthodox Christian Saints call it Theosis.
• In Hinduism, it's Self Realization.

Life is about transcending our lower selves and finding our true, eternal selves

Yet most people never bother to ask or question the programming that conditioned them at a young age, so they stay stuck.

But, given the desire and commitment to do the work, it's possible to ascend the ladder before we croak and depart the School of Life.

You don’t have to stay stuck in the same old emotional loops — anger, fear, guilt, or shame.

My simple S.H.I.F.T. Worksheet is a tool to rise above the lower self that drags you down any time.

S.H.I.F.T. Yourself, Change Your Life Worksheet™

I created this worksheet to help you overcome personal or professional difficulties by shifting your perspective, energy, and intention. Please feel free to use it when you feel overwhelmed, frustrated, stuck, or unsure.

Be honest. Write freely. Working on yourself will empower you to find clarity, higher purpose, and prosperity.

S — Self-Awareness: What problem am I facing right now? How is it affecting my thoughts, emotions, actions, or energy? What negative emotions are you having towards anything?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

H — Higher Understanding: What more profound truth or root cause might be beneath this issue? What is your part in the challenges you’re having? What is this problem trying to teach me or reveal? (e.g., fear, expectation, experience, unmet need, false belief)

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I — Introspection: Where have I seen this pattern before? How have I consciously or unconsciously contributed to or stayed stuck in this problem?

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F — Focused Intention: What do I truly want instead of this problem? How do I like to think, feel, act, or respond going forward?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

T — Transformation: What is one simple, specific action I can take today to move forward with clarity and purpose? What would the most evolved, wise version of me do next?

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You’re not broken—you’re becoming

That's it for now. Do your best to practice this simple exercise and see what happens. If you're like me, you'll experience acceptance, compassion, unconditional love, forgiveness, joy, and glimpses of bliss.

You have everything you need to rise above the old loops and stories. You simply need to believe you can do it.

Now it’s time to S.H.I.F.T. Grab a pen. Do the work, one honest answer at a time, whenever a person, place, or thing bothers you.

You’ve got this. You’re not broken—you’re becoming the real you.

I’m an author, visual artist, speaker, mentor, entrepreneur, and family man who helps willing organizations and individuals find clarity, purpose, and prosperity. Learn more at www.CliffordJones.