E136: The Power of Interruptions

Google defines the word “interrupt” as:

Stop the continuous progress of (an activity or process)
Stop (someone speaking) by saying or doing something
Break the continuity of (a line or surface)

Today we’re going to use each of these definitions, in a new context. Today we’re going to talk about the power of interruptions in the continuous progress of negative self-talk and anxiety

The power of interruptions by taking alternate action through journaling and reprogramming

And lastly, the power of breaking the continuity of automation in our habits, behaviours, and daily actions.

[1:20] Welcome back to the Women’s Empowerment Podcast, I am your host Valerie LaVigne. If you’ve listened to any other episode before you will have noticed that I broke a pattern of how I begin each and every show.

Funnily enough I wasn’t planning on it, but it just ended up that way and it ironically was so perfect because of course today’s episode is all about interruptions and the power they have!

[2:00] [PART ONE]

I’m breaking this episode into three sections so that I can share three unique perspectives on this topic, and the first is: The power of interruptions: Interrupting Negative Self-Talk + Anxiety.

If you’ve ever felt anxious or gotten caught up in the drowning thoughts of negativity, you will understand the rabbit hole of the negative noisy mind and debilitating feelings to follow. Not only is a habit of negative self-talk non-serving, but it can also lead to anxious thoughts, feelings, and fear.

One of the most popular episodes of the Women’s Empowerment Podcast is Episode 81: 5 Tips for Positive Self-Talk. Seeing as this is one of the most popular episodes, I think it’s safe to say that this is a struggle for many of us. The good news is, negative self talk and anxiety is something we can heal, work through, and overcome.

It all starts with the habit of observing our thoughts. This is the consistent practice of noticing our thoughts, mindset, and self-talk. This is constant throughout the day so we will need to check in often. If it helps, you can set alarms/reminders or triggers. For example, if you’re answering emails, notice what your thoughts are throughout the email process, with each new email remember to check in. Or perhaps starting with every morning, notice how you start your day when it comes to your mindset. You can also change up your triggers, for when you’re driving, waiting in line at the grocery store, scrolling instagram, etc.

Getting in the habit of observing your thoughts will be the first step to interrupting anxiety or negative self talk. As soon as you can notice your mindset, you will be able to limit or stop the negative pattern sooner and avoid spiralling all together!

This first step cannot be skipped because it’s the key to breaking the pattern of negativity and interrupting anxiety BEFORE the fearful feelings overtake us. And trying to stop this mid-panic-attack is a lot more difficult than before we shift into panicking.

I want to point out that in no way are we ignoring, suppressing, or labeling the anxious feelings as invalid; the purpose of this step is to eliminate the toxic pattern of the mental spiral or breakdown.

[4:44] We can do this through observation followed by gratitude. One of the best ways to interrupt anxiety is with gratitude. More often than not anxiety comes up when we’re thinking; or over thinking about the future. Fears of what could happen, but isn’t necessarily accurate or true. When we observe an anxious thought, negative self-talk, or poor mindset, the very next step is to think of something we are grateful for.

The practice of gratitude requires us to think of something that has already happened to us, so we know it to be true, AND has made us feel happy, joyful, or grateful. It’s interrupting the negativity with something positive. Notice how I didn’t say, “replacing” I said INTERRUPTING. Gratitude grounds us, elevates our energy, and brings us back to the lighter and elevated emotions. When we are present we can act with discernment and reframe our current situation.

Let’s look at an example: I’m feeling nervous and anxious about an upcoming interview and questioning my abilities as a podcast host. I could very easily spiral into negative self-talk and lack-mindset of “not good enough”. However I am practicing observing my thoughts, so I notice the negativity. With this awareness I CHOOSE to interrupt with gratitude and I take a moment to channel my attention to what I am grateful for. I am grateful for my new coffee mug that was handmade by a local artisan. I am grateful to support a local woman artist, drink out of a very unique piece of art and I really love this coffee that I’m drinking because I’ve been adding cinnamon to it and it’s so pleasant. I take a breath. I remind myself that I am worthy and enough. I am capable, in fact I have evidence supporting how great of a podcast host I really am. At this point in the example I can go on and list truths about what qualifies me, but for the sake of time I won’t, and because you get the point.

[7:26] When you’re interrupting anxious thoughts and feelings with gratitude, here are my 3 tIps for an impactful Gratitude Practice:

Keep it really simple: I am literally drinking out of the coffee mug I described in the example right now. This is a real-life example of what was in front of me or around me that I could connect to gratitude with quickly. A coffee mug. Simple
Consider WHY you are grateful for the item on your list: Don’t stop at listing items within sight. Why are you grateful for that item/person/thing? What makes it meaningful to you? This might also bring evidence to prove your negative mindset wrong.
List different things every day: My life changed when I started writing a daily gratitude practice after only two consistent weeks of it. It has helped me create a WAY healthier and more positive mindset over all and I recommend this super simple practice to anyone looking to make a real shift in their mindset and life.

[8:53] [PART TWO]

Gratitude in the moment can be quickly transformative, and a daily gratitude practice truly allows us to make LASTING CHANGE. This is because as we elevate our energy and our mindset, what we’re actually doing is creating new neural networks and reprogramming our brains.

This leads us to part two: The power of interruptions by taking alternate action through journaling and reprogramming.

If you’ve ever watched or read “The Secret” or done any mindset work with coaches, or through any type of personal development, you would have learned about vision boards, journaling practices, and maybe even audio recordings of what you want your life to look like, sound like, feel like, etc. Hey, I’ve talked about this on the podcast before!

In the bigger scheme of things, and as we start to (as I mentioned) elevate our energy, the next step after gratitude and observation, and choosing our new thought and belief, is to take action. Before I get too far ahead I want to point out the difference between REACTING and TAKING ACTION.

A reaction is an emotional, often immediate and not well-thought out response to a situation. This could be a verbal reaction, sometimes called “word vomit” or a physical action such as an outburst. Because reactions tend to be immediate and without any forethought, we often regret this type of behaviour/action.

In this episode I’m talking more about taking INSPIRED ACTION. Meaning, we are acting from a place of gratitude, service, and working in the highest good. We are moved into action not because we feel hurt or threatened but rather because we are feeling called to show up and shine!

[11:11] Okay, so back to these interruptions. If we want a different result, we’re going to have to take a different action. To initiate a more thoughtful and intentional action, we need to become clear on our desired reality, and we can do this through journaling!

Feel free to take out a pen and paper, or your journal and start writing out a very detailed description of who the best version of you is.

What does she look like?

What does she sound like?

What does she smell like?

How does she feel?

How does she wake up in the morning?

What is her morning routine?

What are her thoughts throughout the day?

What is her work-life balance?

What are her relationships like?

What is she grateful for?

What is she excited about and looking forward to?

Who does she admire?

What is she proud of?

What makes her feel good?

What foods does she eat?

What limiting beliefs or obstacles has she overcome?

How does she spend her weekends or free time?

What makes her special?

How does she spend her evenings?

What is her evening routine like?

I included the questions in this episode so that you could use them as a guide/prompts as you create a detailed and full description of this version of you. Feel free to add more detail and answer your own questions as you see fit. I find these a great starting point for us to dive even deeper.

Writing out these answers with pen and paper is also important in this practice because it allows us to use both the right and left hemispheres of our brain at the same time, activating more neural networks.

It’s also key to write as if this has already happened/in the past tense because as you write and then read the description, your brain cannot distinguish between reality and what you’ve written down so it will start to believe that this is already happening.

[13:58] Here is the best part. The version of you, the one you just described in immense detail, is the person you are already becoming! How?

Your brain is already visualizing this version of you and believing that it’s possible
You have created clarity on exactly who this person is
NEXT you can start to implement some of these actions, thoughts, habits into your life RIGHT NOW!

Does the best version of you drink organic green tea in the mornings? Does the best version of you have boundaries around work emails on the weekends? Does the best version of you schedule time to be creative?

These three examples can most definitely be put into practice RIGHT NOW! Start BEING the best version of you by interrupting the current version of you by taking action.

Wake up in the morning and ask yourself, “What is something I can do today that future Valerie will thank me for?” or “What would the highest version of Valerie choose to think about today? What intention is she setting?” You get the point!

[15:21] [PART THREE]

With these interruptions on mindset, elevating our energy to the high vibration of gratitude, and getting clarity on how we are reprogramming ourselves, we have now reached our third powerful interruption: The power of breaking the continuity of automation in our habits, behaviours, and daily actions.

It doesn’t matter if you track your habits or not. Humans thrive on routines and patterns. Maybe I shouldn’t say thrive, maybe I should say rely. Each and every human on planet Earth has daily behaviours that are either helping them, hurting them, or keeping them neutral.

When I work with my one-on-one mentorship clients I often say, “tell me your habits and I will tell you your future.” This is because, over time our habits are going to lead us somewhere and depending on that habit we will either feel better or worse in our bodies. Obviously this is due to good and bad habits!

Most of our habits are automated. Meaning we don’t have to think about them and we can go through each day, week, month, year behaving, thinking, and acting the exact same without considering anything different.

We wake up at the same time, to the same three alarm clocks, stumble into the shower and brush our teeth with the same hand. We automatically hit the same setting on the coffee machine, drive to and from work the same way, and after dinner we put away the dishes the same and sit on the same spot on the couch as we always do.

An automated life leaves no room for change, growth, or opportunities. Living on autopilot means your future is already decided for you. But if you don’t like the sounds of that, it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, one of the most powerful ways to break the automation is to… you guessed it: interrupt it!

Here are some of the ways we can do it:

Level easy:

Change the hand you use to brush your hair and or teeth with
Take a new route to work
Stir an intention into your morning beverage
Sit on a different part of the couch when you watch TV

Level moderate:

Swap out your morning email and insta scroll for reading a few pages of a personal development book
Instead of watching TV after dinner, spend time connecting with your partner over a nature walk
Listen to an inspiring podcast on your way to work instead of the celeb gossip
Rearrange your morning or evening routine
Visit a restaurant you’ve never been to before, or order something you’ve never had

Level difficult, but certainly not impossible:

Wake up 30 minutes earlier to exercise in the mornings
Schedule email and social media time for specific times during the day and use the other time for screen-free tasks like journaling, nature, project creation, hobby or activity
Fill your weekends and parts of your weekdays with joyful activities, and blank space for spontaneous adventures or activities

Here’s a little bonus for this episode… if you haven’t already noticed, each of these interruptions can become HABITS!

Get in the habit of interrupting negative thoughts

Get in the habit of taking alternate action toward your ideal self

Get in the habit of breaking the continuity of automated behaviours

You are worthy of a limitless, fulfilling, and wonderful life! Welcome interruptions into your life and choose to see them as opportunities for growth. Change the course of your life, and manifest your dreams by making them real today. Prove to your mind, and your physical brain that this future is possible and is happening right now.

Podcast Host

Valerie LaVigne

Valerie is the creator and founder of Valerie LaVigne Life and the Women's Empowerment Show. She helps busy and empowered women create healthy habits so that they can become the best version of themselves and transform their lives. Learn more about Valerie here!