Have you seen Benjamin Zander? He is wonderful, and he has a life-hack that I’ve adopted. When something happens which is hard to grasp, perhaps really not something you wanted, or just out-of-the-blue odd, he throws his arms into the air, and exclaims How fascinating! When a colleague make a decision that is totally off, or you kid paints all over the new sofa with permanent markers. When you accidentally put a teaspoon of salt into the pot instead of sugar, or open the washing machine only to notice that in the white laundry a red sock was hidden, turning the entire load pink.
How fascinating!
This exclamation surprises me. It shifts the inner dialogue. It’s like an old-fashioned record-player, that jumps a song if you bump into it. Might scratch the record a bit at that, but you suddenly hear a new tune, and not the one you believed was coming. That’s what happens to me at least.
And I must say, using Benjamin Zanders wonderful How fascinating is a great way to become more gentle with yourself, especially in instances when you’re the one who messed up. When I was the one who loaded the washing machine. When I was the one making the dessert inedible. When I do something so stupid I don’t even want to own up to it.
How fascinating!
It changes the inner dialogue. Try it!
Welcome to my humble abode, where the underlying tone centers around being gentle to oneself. On Sundays I share thoughts on how I do gentle, and I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please subscribe to updates so you won’t miss out on future posts in this series.