Welcome to day two of the Accept Model.
And the second step in accepting a situation or a circumstance that you cannot change is to control the controllable.
The practice of today is based on one of the concepts of Steve and Coffee.
So find a comfortable position.
Close your eyes.
And let's take a deep breath in.
And out.
And another one.
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
And out through your mouth.
And one more to feel really grounded.
Deep breath in.
And out.
And out.
Now keep your eyes closed.
And I want you to imagine yourself sitting on a beach.
Feel the sand.
It's soft and cool.
And you smell the ocean breeze.
And it makes you feel so relaxed.
Now I want you to draw a circle around you in the sand.
Not too far from your body.
A full circle.
And you are sitting in the middle.
This is the first layer.
This is your inner circle.
Here are all the things that are in your control.
Your actions.
Your thoughts.
Your words.
Your mindset.
Your choices.
Now I want you to draw a circle around this circle.
Go in the sand.
With your finger.
With a stick.
And draw a full circle around it.
And this is your second layer.
The circle of influence.
And in this area all the thoughts,
Opinions,
Choices of other people are things you cannot control.
But you too can have an influence on them.
Now we are going to draw one more circle around you.
And I want you to feel the ocean breeze.
And I want you to feel the ocean breeze.
Now we are going to draw one more circle around this one.
And this is your outer layer.
The outer circle.
And the third layer is your circle of concern.
Make a full circle.
And in this area are all the things that cause you to worry.
But you cannot do anything about it.
The things you can find in this area are the weather.
Policies of the government.
A loved one who dies.
The score of your favorite football team.
Or being stuck in traffic.
Now with your eyes closed,
Imagine that you are standing up.
And you are standing there in the middle of the circles.
And looking at them.
Now I want you to think of a situation or a circumstance that you have a hard time to accept.
And take a look at the first circle.
Because here is your control about how you think,
Feel and the words you use.
And in the second circle are all the things other people say.
And think about your circumstance,
Your situation.
And you have little control over that.
But you can influence it.
Now look at the third circle.
Because here are all the things that you worry about.
But they are completely out of your control.
Now looking at it,
Spending most of your time in this outer circle,
This last circle that we draw.
It will make you feel helpless.
Because you are fighting things you cannot control.
You are blaming others,
Not able to take responsibility for the situation.
That is not a nice place to be.
Now let's find a new spot.
And before you sit down,
Draw a massive circle around you.
As big as you can.
The biggest circle you ever draw.
And then go sit in the middle.
We are still at the beach.
Do you smell the salty sea?
Now feel the warm tropical breeze soothing your body.
Now sitting there in the middle of this massive circle,
This inner circle.
How does that feel?
This big circle gives you the opportunity to be proactive.
To take responsibility for the situation and stop feeling like a victim.
I don't say it's easy.
But if you can aim to spend 80% of your time in this circle.
You will be able to get your control back over the situation.
And you will start feeling empowered again.
Keep your eyes closed.
And now take another look at your situation.
Your circumstance that you are currently thinking about.
What kind of thoughts would you like to have?
And what kind of feelings would you love to experience?
What kind of choices are you able to make?
And what is a tiny action step you can do today to move towards expanding this inner circle of yours?
And then whenever you are ready,
Open your eyes.
And I'll see you tomorrow for Day 3 of the Accept Model.
