Did you have fun last week? Did you have fun today? You can see where this is going. Not only is life too short not to have fun, enjoying yourself helps reduce stress, helps right brain/left brain integration, and just generally makes you more attractive. So make a point of having fun every day this week.
Sometimes, we know things without knowing how we know them. We “sense” it, or it “just comes to us,” or we get a “gut feeling” about something. Western society often discounts this kind of knowing since it’s not measurable or based on “facts.” But it is a powerful source of information for us, even if we don’t know where it comes from. This knowing - intuition - is a much overlooked ability that we all have. So this week, instead of ignoring your gut feelings, your intuition, pay attention to it. Listen to what it has to tell you. You don’t have to act on it unless you want to. Just be aware of it and notice that it’s there.
What “rules” have you made up that you are following unconsciously? For example, do you have an unconscious rule that no matter what, you MUST make your bed every morning? Or that you MUST clean your plate? There’s nothing wrong with these rules; we need habits to make our lives less complicated, but sometimes we do things for no other reason than that’s the way we’ve always done them, and that way may no longer be serving us. This week, notice some of your unconscious rules and deliberately break a couple of them.
Recently I agreed to take on a rather challenging responsibility. It was daunting, not very pleasant, scary, and very, very stressful. Almost daily, I’d whine (to myself), “I don’t want to do this.” And complaining didn’t change anything - it just made me feel worse.
About this time, I ran across an entry in the book A Year of Living Your Yoga. It basically said, “If you’re going to do something, whether you like it or not, do it wholeheartedly.” I decided to try that. I stopped whining to myself - and while the responsibility didn’t get easier and the chores didn’t get more pleasant, I felt better about doing them.
A couple of weeks later, I came down with a cold. Once again, I found myself whining to myself, “I don’t feel good.” Sometimes I changed it up to,“I feel lousy” or “I feel terrible.” And guess what? Moaning and groaning didn’t make my cold go away. It just made me focus on how bad I felt.
So this week, notice when you’re grumbling and complaining to yourself - or to others. Then ask yourself,“Is this making anything any better? Or is it just making it more unpleasant for everyone involved?” If it isn’t making an improvement - then stop it!
What’s the difference between self-confidence and conceitedness? Here’s my take on it.
Are you self-confident or conceited?
It’s hard to force yourself to do something you really don’t care about, or aren’t very good at, or actively dislike, even it’s something you need to do in order to get to where you want to go. You resist the task, avoid it, put it off as long as you can. You fight it. And yet, that task just looms over you, bigger and scarier. It doesn’t go away.
After all, you can’t resist something, or fight something, without focusing your attention on it. And as soon as you do that, you make it seem bigger, harder, scarier than it really its.
Instead of resisting or avoiding whatever it is, try surrendering to it. You’re going to have to do it sooner or later. Why not now?
I challenge you, this week, to tackle one scary task that you’ve been resisting or putting off or avoiding. And I’ll bet you that it won’t be nearly as bad you as fear - and that you’ll feel a hundred times better for having gotten it done.
We sure live in our heads - and make most of our decisions with our heads, too. This week, check in with your gut instead. That little, inner voice won’t steer you wrong.
We all worry, and it’s rarely constructive. Worrying creeps into our thoughts and highjacks them, any time of the day or night. In addition to causing stress and insomnia, it makes it hard to focus, to concentrate on the task at hand, to enjoy the moment.
Since we are going to worry, why not set aside some time for it? Seriously. Take 15 to 20 minutes a day. Call it “thinking time” or “problem solving time” or even be honest and call it “worry time.” And do all your worrying, consciously, then.
And whenever a worry pops up outside your Worry Time, jot it down. Tell yourself firmly that you’ll worry about it at 2:00 PM, or 10:30 AM, or whenever you’ scheduled Worry Time. You’ll be surprised how effective that is.
Besides, by the time Worry Time comes around, those worries won’t have the same urgency. You’ll be able to think about them more clearly. And maybe even find solutions.
Mom’s Day is this coming Sunday. It’s a great opportunity to do something nice for anyone who has helped you, guided you, mentored you - mothered you! - whether or not they’re your real mother.
So this week, drop a line, send a card, write a note, send an email to someone who’s made a difference in your life, and acknowledge them. You’ll both be glad you did.
Happy Birthday to my hubby!
Did you make a New Year’s Resolution back in January? Or did you, at some time in the past couple of months, decide to break a habit, lose a few pounds, start exercising, balance your checkbook regularly, cut back on spending? And have you gotten off track somehow?
Instead of beating yourself up about it, relax. Trying and failing is an essential, necessary part of any behavioral change. It’s part of the process.
But now, it’s time to get back on track. Renew your commitment, firm up your resolve. And try, try again. You’re one try/fail cycle closer to success.
And if you haven’t made any resolutions, well, why not make one now? You don’t have to wait for January to commit to making a change.