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BITESIZE | Auschwitz Survivor Dr Edith Eger on How to Discover Your Inner Power #319

Dec 9, 2022 15m 50s 27 insights
This is a powerful story that my guest delivers with extraordinary wisdom. It will stop you in your tracks. Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart.  Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests. Today’s clip is from episode 144 of the podcast with the wonderful Edith Eger, a holocaust survivor, a psychologist, and an author. This was a powerful conversation that fundamentally changed my perspective on life. In this clip, Edith shares her extraordinary story. Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com. Thanks to our sponsor http://www.athleticgreens.com/livemore Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee.com/144 Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeuk
Actionable Insights

1. Transform Life Through Thought

Recognize that fundamentally changing your way of thinking is the key to transforming your life and overall experience.

2. Discover Inner Power

Recognize and access your inner resources and power, understanding that external circumstances or others cannot take away your spirit.

3. Choose Your Response

Focus on your reaction and response to events rather than the events themselves, as your actions determine your experience and outcome.

4. Forgive to Liberate Self

Practice forgiveness by letting go of the mental ‘concentration camp’ you’ve built, understanding that it’s a gift to yourself to release those you hate and liberate yourself from the past.

5. Unlock Your Mental Prison

Recognize that any feeling of being imprisoned often originates in your own mind, and you possess the internal ‘key’ to unlock and free yourself.

6. Cultivate Inner Resources

Understand that life’s experience and your power originate from within, not from external factors, allowing you to decide your internal state regardless of circumstances.

7. Release Hatred’s Grip

Consciously decide to release hatred, recognizing that holding onto it harms oneself, to become a survivor rather than a victim of circumstances.

8. Come to Terms, Don’t Overcome

Instead of aiming to ‘overcome’ or forget difficult experiences, strive to ‘come to terms’ with them, acknowledging their impact without letting them define your present.

9. Acknowledge & Regulate Suffering

Do not minimize your suffering; instead, invite and fully feel triggered emotions as a natural part of life, but then consciously decide how long you will allow yourself to hold onto that feeling.

10. Reframe Crises as Transitions

Embrace and invite difficult feelings, reframing ‘crises’ as ’transitions’ and ‘problems’ as ‘challenges,’ to adopt a more resilient and growth-oriented perspective.

11. Practice Daily Self-Love

Begin each day by looking in the mirror and affirming ‘I love me,’ recognizing that self-love is a fundamental form of self-care and not narcissism.

12. Consciously Create Your Day

Actively anticipate and shape your day by consciously choosing your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, rather than letting them be dictated by external factors.

13. Filter Your Words (Kind, Important, Necessary)

Before speaking, apply a filter: ask if your words are kind, important, and necessary; if they don’t meet these criteria, refrain from speaking.

14. Commit to Mutual Cooperation

Prioritize commitment and cooperation with others over competition or domination, recognizing that mutual support strengthens bonds and empowers everyone.

15. Share and Cooperate

In times of scarcity or hardship, choose to share resources and cooperate with others, as mutual support can be crucial for survival and well-being.

16. Empower Through Differences

Seek ways to leverage and appreciate individual differences to empower each other, fostering a collaborative environment rather than one of conflict.

17. Practice Compassionate Listening

Engage in compassionate listening, even with individuals holding extreme or hateful views, and consciously choose not to react impulsively to their provocations.

18. Learn From Challenging People

Adopt the perspective that even the most obnoxious or difficult individuals can serve as your best teachers, offering opportunities for self-reflection and growth.

19. Acknowledge Inner Duality

Honestly examine your inner self to acknowledge the presence of both negative (e.g., ‘bigot,’ ‘Hitler’) and positive (e.g., ‘Mother Teresa,’ ‘kindness’) potentials within you.

20. Process Trauma, Don’t Dwell

Acknowledge and process difficult experiences (‘go through the valley of the shadow of death’), but consciously choose not to dwell or ‘camp there’ in your suffering.

21. Embrace Realism, Build Strength

Adopt a realist perspective that life is inherently difficult, and view suffering not as a weakness but as an opportunity to become stronger.

22. Focus One Day at a Time

Approach overwhelming situations by focusing on surviving ‘one day at a time,’ creating a future-oriented goal or positive thought to sustain hope.

23. Maintain Inner Spirit

Comply with external demands when necessary for survival, but inwardly preserve your true spirit and identity, preventing external forces from ‘murdering’ it.

24. Transform Hatred to Pity

When confronted with hatred or hostility, consciously choose to transform that hatred into pity for the aggressor, recognizing their internal state.

25. Reframe Your Captivity

In oppressive situations, reframe your perspective to see your oppressors as the true prisoners, thereby liberating your own spirit.

26. Protect Your Mind’s Contents

Safeguard the knowledge and thoughts you cultivate in your mind, as these are internal resources that no external force can seize.

27. Empowering Affirmation Mantra

When struggling, repeat the mantra ‘Yes, I am. Yes, I can. Yes, I will’ to inspire yourself, recognizing that current difficulties are temporary and you have a choice in your response.