Wake Me Up: Morning Positivity - Morning Meditation for Impulse Control | Change Unhealthy Impulses

Episode Date: May 9, 2023

This morning, overcome your unhealthy impulses with this soothing meditation. You'll come to understand the root needs underlying an unhealthy impulse, so that you can fulfill that need with something healthy and productive. Want to be more focused? Wish distractions would just melt away? Sign up for the WMU Focus Course! If you're interested in joining, all you need to do is sign up for the course here: https://wakemeuppod.gumroad.com/l/focus. Get ad-free access to the entire WMU catalog + bonus content + 25% discount on WMU courses by joining the WMU Premium Feed. Sign up and start your 7-day free trial at https://wakemeup.supercast.com/. Follow the show on Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon - Podchaser Say hi or request an episode at www.wakemeuppodcast.com/contact. See visual guides for the yoga and stretches in WMU episodes at www.wakemeuppodcast.com/stretches. And find the podcast on Instagram and TikTok. **Only partake in the physical movements suggested in Wake Me Up episodes if you are physically able and in safe surroundings. All movements are done at the individual's own risk. Be safe, and always consult a doctor if you have any questions or concerns.** Have a wonderful day 😃 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wake Me Up is made possible thanks to the generous help of our advertisers and premium supporters. If you'd like to support Wake Me Up, listen ad-free, and get access to the entire catalog plus bonus episodes, then follow the link in the show notes to sign up for Wake Me Up Premium. Now before our episode begins, here's a quick word from our sponsors. Hey there, and welcome to Wake Me Up. This week, we're diving into a really important. concept for a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life. And that's impulse control. In yesterday's episode, we talked about how harmful impulses can really hold us back in life. And I pointed out

that harmful impulses are most often a coping mechanism. To control the impulse, we really need to understand the root problem of why we're coping. So while understanding the impulse itself is important, what's more important is figuring out why we need to cope in the first place. Why are we experiencing a pain that we need to make ourselves feel better about? And in today's meditation, we're going to do just that. We'll get nice and relaxed, and we'll dive deep into our minds to understand why we give in to harmful impulses in the first place. And even though this may uncover some new things about you that you didn't know, it's not going to be strenuous or stressful.

That's the beauty of exploring yourself in a meditative state. You become more objective. You see things and accept them as they are without judgment. So go ahead and think of a harmful impulse or a bad habit that you have, which you'd like to work on and improve, because that's what we'll dive into, today. Now if you're in bed, go ahead and use this opportunity to roll over, get your way up, and out of bed. There's a beautiful day lying ahead and a wonderful meditation coming up.

So find your way to a comfortable position. Any position that you'd like to meditate in will work. I do recommend that you meditate sitting up, and that's simply so you don't fall asleep. but I know we all have different preferences and different spaces, so do whatever works best for you. And once you've found that comfortable position, just allow yourself to settle in. Mentally put aside anything else that you did before this or anything else you have to do afterwards.

It'll be there when you're done. Now take a deep breath in, fill all the way up, hold at the top for just a second, and then exhale, release, and slowly close your eyes. Use this first moment to help yourself settle in. Relax the muscles of your face, soften your shoulders down, and release your jaw, and simply follow the natural rise and fall of your own breath, as you do.

You'll find that you settle deeper and deeper within yourself. Hopefully you're nice and nice and safe. settled in now. So bring to mind that harmful impulse, that bad habit, which you would like to be better about controlling, and go through a standard day in your life. With special attention to the moments when that impulse or that bad habit most commonly tends to arise, what might you be lacking or looking for in those moments? In other words, words, what void does this impulse fill? What problems does this impulse attempt to solve for you? Maybe it's simply boredom or loneliness. Maybe it's a feeling that you're not good enough.

There are lots of possibilities, and there may be more than one that applies to this impulse. So just take a moment to explore and see what you find. Great. Now begin to consider this. What does your need for those things say about you as a person? And we're not here to point out anything negative. We're simply observing things about ourselves. I'll use myself as an example. Bortem is a cause of many of my impulses.

And that says I'm someone who likes to be stimulated, challenged. So look beneath me. that impulse and you'll find some of your root needs as a person. So again, take a moment to explore. Hopefully you've been able to identify some of those core or root needs. Now consider whether giving into that impulse actually solves your root need in the long term or is it merely a momentary bandage. Now consider all of the ways giving in the end of the way that impulse actually solves your root need in the long term.

Now consider all of the ways giving into this impulse might be harming you. Could it be affecting your health, your self-worth, your relationships? Finally, consider what you could replace that impulse with in the moment you feel it arise, something that's more productive, but also addresses the root need that void you're seeking to fill with the harmful impulse. Fantastic. Now, it's almost time to wrap up so you can let all of that go and just let your mind wander

anywhere it wants to go for about 30 seconds. All right, it's time to wrap up now, so begin to bring yourself back. Notice whatever's supporting you, whether it's a chair or the floor, or something else. Notice any sounds going on around you and feel the air on your skin.

take one final deep breath in. And as you exhale, slowly open your eyes and just take a second to gather yourself. All right. So hopefully that helped you understand the root causes or the underlying unfulfilled needs that are leading to your harmful impulse. Now you can begin to see why the pain, why the need to cope in the first place. One of your core needs is not being fulfilled. And that's okay. It happens to all of us.

But it's important that we identify and fulfill those needs in ways that are healthy, productive, and also solve that need in the long term. If you did this meditation to manage an impulse you're having right now, then I'd recommend doing that activity you came up with to replace the impulse. And remember, impulses are momentary. Put your attention on something else, something that actually fulfills that need, and the impulse will be gone before you know it. If you try to focus on not giving into the impulse, that's not going to help. It's actually only going to worsen the problem

because our brains have a hard time focusing on what not to do. For example, try to not think about purple elephants right now. It's harder than you think, isn't it? So redirecting your attention to a healthy and productive replacement activity is the key. When selected properly, this activity will fill that momentary need that you're lacking, allowing that impulse for the unhealthy coping mechanism to subside. I encourage you to return to this meditation when you do have an impulse that you want to better understand and control. This takes time, repetition, and practice. You're developing a skill set, a difficult one that requires you to overcome your own internal hard work.

wiring. You've spent a long time developing the neural pathways that made this into an impulse. So it will take time to rebuild that into something more productive. Tomorrow, I'll be back with affirmations on this same theme, affirmations you can use to help manage unhealthy impulses. So I hope to see you there. Until then, go out and have an absolutely fantastic day.