Nothing New - Malware

I know at its face value “malware” is a relatively new term, not seemingly falling in the “nothing new” category. I recently had a first-hand experience with malware on my laptop. The laptop with all my business information, the one I shop from…the one where my life is.

It was scary. I started my day as usual and posted on my personal Facebook page. I went to eat breakfast, and when I came back to continue working my monitor was flashing warnings, and my computer was completely locked up.

I had no time to research and troubleshoot. I took a few breaths, texted my husband a warning to keep an eye on our accounts especially closely, chose to align myself by reading a 2-page section from Richard Rohr’s just this, got dressed, pulled back my hair, and went to play with 4-year-olds for 5 hours.

After work, I dropped some food off for my mom as planned. Then I went to my brother’s place to drop off some soup I made with kale he had given me. While I was busy being an education assistant, he had generously been searching for solutions to my malware problem.  He saved me time and money by not having to go to a store to get it fixed. Within an hour he had my computer running again.  I’m so grateful to him and proud of myself for letting go of what I couldn’t control and not letting the situation completely dictate my mood and actions for the rest of the day.

This malware on my laptop could’ve been very destructive.

And the experience got me thinking…How is the “malware” in my mind affecting me?

Have you ever tried to sit and observe your thoughts?  Tried to watch what’s playing on the monitor of your mind? Notice what programs are operating your system, so to speak?

I have…and it’s downright frightening sometimes if I’m being completely honest.

The negativity, the fixations, the storytelling…yikes! And almost all of it is NOT based on facts. Malware for the mind! With that running in my background, I won’t be my best self.

This is all normal human stuff that’s been going on since the beginning of humankind AND we must be mindful of it.  I regularly “run scans” for mind malware. I engage in activities like journaling, praying, meditating, and walking in nature to make sure I’m flowing with positive energy, and not resisting growth with negativity.

With practice over the years, I’ve gotten better at noticing judgment and installing “firewalls” to protect my center of love.

If you want to dive deeper into this, ask a few friends to join you in Growing Questions, my 8-week group coaching program where we dive deep into mindset, humanity, and asking questions to keep us (and encourage those around us) moving from being stuck to growing positively. Reach out and we can set up a time that works for you!