Hi, it's Sam here.

Welcome to Radio Headspace and to Monday morning.

So lately, when describing my feelings to others, I often preface my description of my feelings

with...

Okay, I know it sounds dramatic, but this is actually how it feels.

Like when I'm running late, I'll notice thoughts like, no one will ever think I'm reliable

again.

Or will all the ways I've been competent and great at my job be overshadowed by my

lateness this one time?

When we start to believe the drama that our minds project, it's easy to be hard on ourselves

as we buy into self-critical thoughts and engage in self-sabotaging behaviors.

We exaggerate that one moment of difficulty and then everything else gets ignored.

So this got me thinking about how mindfulness can help us observe and get enough distance,

not just from the content of our thoughts, but also the tone and sometimes the harshness

of our thoughts.

Lutus meditation teacher Pema Chodron describes a no big deal or NBD perspective as a point

of view which infuses situations with a sense of flexibility and humor.

When our minds create a dramatic story about something that happened, we can remember that

in a few days or even a few minutes, we're likely to forget what the fuss was all about.

An NBD perspective allows us to ride the ups and downs of life with more ease, knowing

that no one situation has the final say about the course our life takes.

One example of this is when you've said something that you regret and you end up ruminating

...