Enjoy Life. Three Steps to a New You.
What if it was different?
What if you enjoyed what you did?
How could your life be better?
While visiting family, we stayed at a hotel. It was Mother’s Day and I had some time to myself. I sat in the restaurant for an early breakfast and typed on my computer. After an hour, I closed my computer, took a final sip of my tea, and stood to leave. I felt accomplished. The story was coming together.
The hostess commented, “No more work now.”
I looked at her in confusion. “But I like it.”
She said, “But it’s Mother’s Day.”
“Exactly. You’re supposed to do what you enjoy. And I enjoy writing. I had an idea and wanted to write.”
We smiled together in a moment of understanding. “Well, that’s different.”
As I walked to the elevator, I reflected on the whole idea of work being something you don’t enjoy and “have to” get done. Obviously, that was her idea. And if not her’s, it was something that she adopted because the general populous has this viewpoint.
In reality, it’s up to you to find what you enjoy and do that. And if you have to do something, find a way to enjoy it. And if you don’t enjoy the actual thing you are doing, perhaps you can find pleasure in the reason you are doing it.
When you show up differently, then your life will show up differently.
Three Steps to a New You
Take responsibility for yourself. In short, it’s up to you. How you look at something is up to you. How you choose to talk about it is up to you. How you think about it is up to you. Once you accept this, then you’ll see that you hold all the power.
Choose a feeling. You can choose how you would like to feel. You have choices. What is your choice? (Hint, if you change your mind, you are actually just making a new choice.) Choose the feeling that you would like to feel. Not necessarily the one that others feel. The one that you would like to feel.
Think of the feeling as an actual body sensation. For example, happy is just a word. How does your body know you are happy? Perhaps you have a smile on your face and a tingle in your chest. These body sensations are clear and you will know when they are happening.
Start feeling it now. Once you have chosen the feeling, start feeling it in everything you do. Use words, thoughts, and actions that support that feeling. Act from the feeling. Do those things that feed the feeling.
For example, I read about a barista at an airport who truly enjoyed her job. This can be a tough job with crabby people. Instead, she had a smile and nice word for everyone she served. When asked about it, her response was that her mission was to bring a smile to others. This made her feel good.
She chose to feel good, and then she chose how she would like to do that. She took action. She was cheerful and encouraging to weary travelers, bringing smiles to their faces. The more she did this, the better she felt – and the better the customers felt. It was a win-win.
So, if you want something different, then it’s up to you to show up differently. Choose the feeling you would like to feel. And then start feeling it now as you do things to feed the feeling.
In this moment, how do you choose to feel? The choice is yours. You have the power!
