
Who said this would be a three part series? There’s too much good stuff to give you all at once . . . and you won’t reflect on it. So, now we’ll spread it into three parts with mindfulness activities provided next week.
This blog is the second of the three-part series aimed to help you build the skill of centering. The work done in Part 1 (Blog 61) sets you up with the background and reflections needed to apply this blog. So don’t hesitate to go back to the previous post. Invest in you. Your capacity to centre can make a significant difference.
So how do we centre?
For a start, let’s call it a process of constant recentering. Those dolly’s heads (talked about in Blog 61) would constantly come off, so let’s get used to processes of recentering being a skill we need to develop and refine. Try to view recentering as a rhythm you need to build into your life’s plan.
And don’t go thinking just one thing will fix it. This is about accessing a bag of tools and accessing the ones that work for you. Only you will know what works for you. And some of these tools will work well in combination.

©Husqvarna.com
Let’s see what’s inside. You’ll notice some tools are designed to help you change your mind and some are designed to be more mindful. i’ve separated them into two groups (with mindfulness next week).
Tools to bridle your mind
First, here’s some activities to bridle our mind, in the same way we would bridle a horse. Your mind is strong, and tools and strategies to help control it would help. It can have a tendency to race off on its own path (like a horse).
- Know yourself. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Use tools like Enneagram and Myers Briggs to get a good feel for how you are driven. Complete a Genogram to understand your family background, what has shaped you and what behaviours are deeply embedded. These tools were explained in Blog 9.
- Use a pocket sheet We have talked about a pocket sheet in Blog 7. Take a look at that blog, but in short . . . a pocket sheet is a sheet that’s small enough to fit in your pocket. On it you have a list of the sayings and quotes that will help the recentering of your mind. On those days when you feel weak and the stinking thinking is raging, reach for the pocket sheet and listen to your voice in the sheet. Grab the reigns.
- Put some times in your day when you can stop and refocus. Insert in your rhythm a time when you can calm the whirlwind of life enough to stop and reflect (and perhaps have a read of your pocket sheet). i try to put aside a time each morning when i just sit and reflect for five minutes. In the afternoon i try to spend 10 minutes picking up some leaves from a rock garden – just a quiet meaningless activity. Someone else i know stops and reflects when they have their morning coffee. So when can you stop, find a quiet space in your day and take stock?
- Be honest with yourself. Not hard with yourself, just honest. Take stock of where you are. Confront the brutal facts of your reality. Know that good can come out of this. And couch it with being grateful.
- Have some mantras that work for you. The 10 Living Wisdom rules provide good examples of mantras you could include in your life:
- I belong here – I do belongI can get used to the place I am in and still grow
- I deserve to feel safe and loved – always
- Sometimes life is good and fair – and sometimes its not
- All my choices matter. They all have consequences.
- God does care about me, even when it doesn’t seem like it
- It isn’t just what happens to me that matters, but how I think about it.
- Everything can be talked about, and most things can be sorted out.
- Comparing myself to others is out of bounds in my thoughts.
- I am valuable, I am okay and so are other people.
What are the significant sayings that mean a lot to you? Hold onto these.
Now stop here. Breathe. Don’t race ahead. What can you apply from this group of tools to bridle your mind? How? When? Where?

©Cinergycoaching
Next week (Part 3), we’ll take a look at the mindfulness tools that can help you recentre and be more calm.
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