The Magic Wand Question
ACT for BeginnersIf I could wave a magic wand, so that all of these kind of difficult thoughts and feelings, all these fears about the future, they become like water off a duck's back. They no longer hold you back in any way. Give me a sense of what you'd be doing differently in your life if that magic happened. It's actually hard to imagine that happening. Just indulge. Magic happens in all of these difficult feelings, thoughts, emotions, they just, they just kinda wash over you. What would you be doing differently on a day to day basis? Well, you know, the first thing is I'd be drinking less because those thoughts wouldn't be troubling.
Okay. So it'd be less drinking. Yeah. Yeah. What else? Bit like what I was saying before, I'd just be more engaged with my work. I'd feel like I could actually ring up my friends and say how about a round of golf and, you know, not have to think about, oh, what am I gonna say to them or what are they gonna say to me? Okay. So playing golf any other ways you'd be socializing more or feel in some sense I've been, kind of remote with my with my own kids. I have the perfunctory weekly phone call with them, but ever since when I'm on those calls, like, you know, can't really be with them.
Yeah. So you'd be more kind of focused, more attentive, more engaged. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I am interested in their lives, but it's, it's like I I don't know, be conveying that to them. They'd they'd get a sense that, oh, dad really wants to hear about this. And, you know, they'd Yeah. That's probably it. I think in some ways, maybe I've shut them down.
Okay. And that's cool. Some more kinda open and listening and engaging with them. Those would be the biggest differences. Yeah. Anything that you'd be doing differently with Lauren? Just less grumpy, less nappy, you know, but at the same time, yeah, it's it's funny that I realize that Sometimes I kind of hover around her too much in a way that probably irritates her. But she's grateful for me being there, so she doesn't say anything about it, but and then, yeah.
Okay. This is interesting. I haven't actually seen this before that that grumpiness that I'm putting out, there's, I don't know, maybe sort of in response to what she's not saying. Yeah. You know, like I feel she's slightly irritated. So I get irritated. Like, can't you just be grateful for everything I'm giving up? That's easy to get caught in that vicious cycle.