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?