Feeling Better Fast
There are times when we don't rise to our usual level of happiness. Sometimes, I've noticed, it's because I'm coming down with something and my physical energy is low, although I'm not sure, thinking about it now, that the physical symptoms aren't from the emotional ones.
We can feel "happy" about 95% of the time. Not necessarily smiling like a fool and jumping around joyously all that time, but calm, satisfied, content and at peace with ourselves and the rest of the world. You may not believe that 95%… but keep reading this blog…I'm going to be telling you what I know about how to be happy and stay happy, as well as how to be prosperous and stay prosperous.
But don't pass on smiling and jumping for joy!! As a matter of fact, it's an interesting thing about smiling… and I'll tell you later.
If there's someone in your life who's a real downer, who seems to get pleasure from seeing you (or anyone) down, upset, frustrated, or angry, this smiling and jumping for joy attitude will really annoy them! Seriously, if you're around someone like that, get away from them. They aren't doing you any good, you aren't doing them any good, and if they're in your work situation, they're hurting the productivity and excellence of everyone on the team.
Since your brain, like everyone's, works better when you're feeling happy, content, people who don't help you feel that way, just slow down the work. And why work at all if you can't be productive and excellent? Yes, there are studies that show your brain works better when you're happy. One of the things I plan to do on this blog is to reference some of those studies at the layman's level… because the stuff that is coming out of them is fascinating!
You know you feel better when you're happy. You know you work better, more productively, and at a higher quality when you feel good, and that includes feeling appreciated, accepted, approved of, liked, and allowed to be yourself and do your best work. In another post I'll tell you about a marvelous book that talks about these qualities and how important they are for your self growth. For the impatient, (would that be you?) the name of the book is How to Be an Adult in Relationships : The Five Keys to Mindful Loving by David Richo.
So it's important to know how to get yourself feeling better when you're feeling down, because you're going to feel better, work better, love better and all that when you're happy. As you learn techniques for feeling better you'll get to a point where you can just decide to feel better. You may not believe that now, but keep tuned to this blog…
Until you can just decide to feel better, and feel better now, here's one technique to feel better when you're feeling non-happy, non-content, and non-prosperous.
- Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed, and where you can write, comfortably.
- Relax and be silent for a few minutes.
- Notice any tension in any part of your body. What does feeling "bad" feel like? Try to identify specific body feelings, like "my jaw is tense," or "my stomach hurts." Once you've identified a feeling, go on to the next feeling.
- Write down 10 things that you are grateful for, in the form "I am grateful for …." or "I am thankful for…."
- After each gratitude statement, notice the feelings in your body. For example, if you are grateful that your dog is curled up at your feet, where do you feel that? Are your feet warm because the dog is lying next (or on them, if you have a Lab
) to them? Do you have a relaxed feeling in your chest for the affection you feel for your pet?
After you finish all 10 statements of gratitude, relax and be silent for a few minutes.
Notice how your body feels now. If you are like most of the people I've taught this to, you're feeling a lot better!
You can repeat this exercise as often as you like.
Now, here's a few suggestions about the exercise. I find that handwriting is more effective than writing on the computer, but you may be different -- try each way and see which works better for you. Choose things that you are really conscious of being grateful for. For example, you may be really grateful that you are alive, or that the weather is nice, and if you are, you can write "I'm grateful I'm alive," or "I'm grateful it's a sunny day," or "I'm grateful it's finally raining." But make sure that they are things you are really grateful for, and not just things you think you should be grateful for. You have to pay attention!If you can do 10 gratitude statements really easily, then try 15, or 20. And if you can't possibly think of 10 things you're truly grateful for, do five. It's a little like lifting weights, where you lift until the last weight is really difficult.
You may want to keep your gratitude statements. Any spiral notebook will do, but if you like, get a nice blank book that has some binding that makes you feel good, and helps you reach that attitude of gratitude. Pick a pen or pencil that writes smoothly. You don't want anything gritty interfering with your state! But don't wait until you've found the perfect notebook and writing instrument to start. Try it now, writing on anything, the back of an envelope, the inside of a cereal box, anything you can write on!
I told you at the beginning of this blog that I'd tell you an interesting thing about smiling. Before I do, notice now how you feel in your body, particularly the chest area. Now, smile! Make it a big, friendly smile, as if you'd just seen someone you really like! Notice again how you feel. Smiling actually releases endorphins, or, as I'm likely to refer to them in this blog, "en-dolphins swimming in your blood." Endorphins make you feel good. So the interesting thing about smiling is that it actually makes you feel better.
And of course, it makes the people you smile at feel better, too, and if you make them feel better and smile, it makes the ones around them feel better! So keep smiling, and I'll see you next time.
How to Be an Adult happiness abundance smile brain books
posted by Kay @ 4:24 PM
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