Major General (retired) Tim Cross CBE is an excellent speaker. If you get the chance to hear him, I’d recommend it.  He’s an advocate of the role of ethics in making tough military decisions in the moment of crisis. When we invited him to speak to our “Any Questions” group, his repeated use of ‘retired’ caught my attention.

Tim’s reason is simply that he is retired from that role, but the role is never forgotten - even though he is no longer in active service.

I was struggling with some habitually negative patterns of thinking and the thought came to me, “What if I was retired from that role?”  What if I’m a habitual professional worrier (retired)? If I’m retired, I don’t do that anymore.

I only share this with you because it was so effective for about three days. Every time the negative thought patterns arose, I reminded myself that I was ‘retired’ from that role. It made me smile, and broke the cycle. I had three days peace.

Of course, I can’t promise you even three days peace, but if it works for today, it’s a thought worth playing with. Pick something that you don’t want to continue doing, thinking, or feeling, and declare you’re ‘retired’ from that behaviour, thought, or feeling!

We’d all be delighted to hear how it works for you too.

Lex

A Moodscope member