Jake Burhans teaches that you're not your thoughts, just the awareness observing them. Naming anxiety as "I notice I am anxious" instead of "I am anxious" can reduce its emotional charge by 30-50%, giving you space to act intentionally rather than react.
Alright folks, over the next 30 days I'm gonna take you here on a 30-day challenge to build your awareness. Okay, this is for entrepreneurs, high performers who are stressed out, burnt out, anxious, overwhelmed. I started in that place. I built a multi-million dollar real estate business from stress, fear, anxiety, burnt out, wanted to quit, and I was like, I need to find a better way. I'm either gonna quit, I'm gonna find a better way. So I started doing the internal work, and it starts with awareness. That is the first thing we teach. So The first lesson today is you are not your thoughts. You must understand that your awareness is separate from your mental content, because if you can't do that, you can't get control of your life. Something triggers you in your life and it's like someone's flooring the gas in the car and the wheel is just spinning crazy out of control. You got to get your hands back on the wheel. That is using your awareness. That is observing the negative thought, the feeling of anxiety, the feeling of fear, the feeling of stress. How do I know that you are not your thoughts? Because who's the one noticing that you have a negative thought, that you have an anxious thoughts. You have a fearful thought. Who's the one noticing that you feel anxious or feel angry? That is your awareness, and it's like a spotlight, okay? It's constantly shining on things. So that spotlight is on that feeling of anxiety. You're gonna put yourself into a dysregulated state. So you have to begin to focus. Like, say you're running a report. Your awareness is on the report. A thought comes into your field. Where does your awareness go? Oh, up to the thought. Oh my god, I have to do this. What if I run out of money? Blah blah blah. That awareness is now focused on that thought. You have to recognize that you have— your focus has gone to the thought and bring it back to the report. Begin to cultivate that awareness. And it's really just, you know, the verbiage of, I am noticing the thought that I'm anxious, instead of saying I am anxious. So you can practice that skill, understanding that your awareness is separate from your thoughts and your emotions. You can create space, and it doesn't make it all better like a magic pill, but it reduces the emotional charge by like up to 30 to 50% just to name the thought or the emotion. And that'll allow you to at least get your hands back on the wheel of your life and figure out what you want to do instead of reacting emotionally.
