If you're facing a decision (small, medium or large!), confronted by a problem or trying to juggle a number of priorities, ask yourself before your head hits the pillow tonight: "What's the next most important thing I need to do?"

We talked about ruminative thinking last week and why going around in circles, gradually vanishing up your own backside, is the normal way of experiencing reality! And, whilst our 70,000 thoughts and our inability to control them is the root cause of us being unable to properly perceive the reality of the moment and act accordingly, it's how we deal with our thoughts that makes the difference... you can either pay them attention or pay attention to something that is more real and more relevant to the reality of today.

Your thoughts won't go away... like the poor, they will always be with us. However, a thought on it's own is a nothing - a thought only takes flight if you give it wings. It is the attention that we give our thoughts that distances us from the reality of the here and now - not the thought itself. Unfortunately, our autopilot works on the basis that we give the greater part of our subconscious attention to our thoughts - that's how the autopilot enables us make it through the day. We have thoughts that enable us drive our car, thoughts that enable us walk, cook, dress ourselves... the normal stuff of everyday life. Unfortunately, the autopilot is not all that discerning - it will offer your attention up to any random thought that wanders into your head from your already stored knowledge. And, because your stored knowledge is far more likely to sling negative thoughts in your direction, this is how you become stuck in the Groundhog Day that we talked about last week.

In short, you're wired to listen to and pay attention to the crap in your own head. And crap it is... it's been lodging there, like a delinquent squatter, since your formative years, it has nothing to do with the present day but - and this is the big problem - this is the crap you use to make sense of what is going on today... no wonder "normal crazy people" misbehave, react and make things worse.

As we've said, your thoughts won't go away - but you could stop giving them your attention. If you could do this, you'd arrest their ability to deform your perspective on reality - you'd stop misbehaving and reacting, you'd start acting - possibly for the first time in your adult life. To achieve this objective, you need to start developing your innate, childlike ability to pay attention to the present moment, using your five senses. If you were to do a little of this every day, each little daily step would, ultimately, become a giant leap - out of your version of "reality" into the here and now - the time and place where life is lived.

What could you learn in one day that might change your life? Well, for starters, you'd learn how to stop paying attention to the crap in your own head - and you might just experience reality. And, once you've experienced reality, anything - truly anything - is possible. The Psychology of Succes - the up to the minute version of the one-day Workshop that I've been running for twenty years, will take place again in Dublin on May 10th... get all the details here...