First was the word… remember?
I know, I know, talk is cheap. But is it?
I am not talking about boasting, false promising, buttering up, etc. I am talking about all the times when you “just” talk. When you think you are describing how it is. When you think you are telling the truth. When you do your darndest best to describe reality… I am talking about that talking.
The words you use, the pictures you paint do not describe anything. They, instead, create. For you and for others.
When the media screams: there is recession, they are painting pictures. When you tell someone stories to make them feel better but talk about somber stories with unhappy endings, you are painting pictures of gloom and doom in their world that, unless they are really careful, they will manifest, no kidding.
When you say “I want to lose weight” the picture of you running fast enough that the “weight” stays behind, but the moment you slow down so you can live, the weight catches up with you… have you noticed? If not in your life, in others?
When you say “I have to go to work” you are painting the picture of a prison with no joy, no freedom, no self-expression, no creativity… is this what you want half of your awake time to become? Oh, it already has? No wonder…
If you want to do well, you need to feel well. If you want to feel well, you need to use words that manifest that reality… remember parallel realities? Every word creates — or not — a parallel reality.
Most of us are stuck in a gloom and doom reality. There is a book title, Why you are sick, broke and dumb… or something like that. Can you see that a simple shift in the use of your words could take you to well, prosperous and gloriously bright?
You decide, and you are even motivated for a day, maybe even a week, then it goes away.
What’s the trick for staying motivated? In this and some coming blog posts I’ll give you a few practices you can use.
Practice #1: Schedule In Gratitude and Appreciation
Gratitude for what? you say, and you shouldn’t be surprised, most of us have a real hard time finding anything to be grateful for. The weather is good, so what. The weather is bad, that’s bad. Consider that your creativity is half dead, and you are a walking dead yourself, like a zombie.
Start small. First start with something that you now take for granted, but you COULD be grateful for. Like someone smiling, even if it is not at you. The traffic light turning to green, even if it is supposed to. That the alarm functioned… even if it seems like that is the order of things. For the toilet flushing when you pull that lever… when you flip the switch and the light comes on. It is not that difficult, you’ll see that your world is full of things to be grateful for, full or miracles.
Your second stage will require more creativity, but by that time you will have so much feel good energy in you, that it won’t be a big challenge.
The second stage is finding the silver lining in everything. It’s raining? It is great for the plants. It will clean the air. It will force you to wash your car. It allows you to get to that book that you have been putting off reading. Or even: goodie. I can look for the silver lining… yaay.
In addition of going through my day, I spend a few minutes in bed going through my day looking for accomplishments. I am always grateful and appreciative of myself and the opportunities. I sleep better, and I wake up with a lot more energy to keep on being grateful and appreciative.
The third stage is to put your gratitude on loudspeaker. We mostly talk about what’s wrong. That’s what sells newspapers, right? Well, it has also caused where you are today, or on a larger scale, where the world is today.
Break the habit, and talk only about what you are grateful for, what you appreciate, what you like, and the like.
It will be odd at first. People will look at you funny… but don’t let that discourage you.
Some 14 years ago I had an assignment to ask people in my life “What do you love about your life?”
Trust me, at that time, when I looked at people, I could not fathom that they had anything to love about their lives.
There was a sourpuss clerk at the mailbox that I tried to avoid every day lest his attitude would rub off on me. But homework needs to get done, so I asked him “What do you love about your life?”
He started to talk, and talk, and smile, and smile, and there was no end to what he had to say. He still smiles when he sees me. I remind him of what he loves about his life. Go figure… 🙂
I have run out of article… Go to the next practice