Feeling Great!
Depending on what stage you are at in life, it might be a long time since you felt really amazingly on-fire great! You might be surrounded by people you love, have a good occupation, be happy and healthy, but that’s not what I’m talking about. If you are over 25 think back to a day or a feeling you had in your late teens and early twenties when you woke up and the world just sparkled. The grass was so green it caught your breath, the sun was so warm. Your mind was so clear; you had a sense of ultimate freedom and peace. It just felt amazing to be alive. Nothing at all had to happen on that day because it was already perfect. Then your favourite song came on the radio, and your best friend dropped in and brought you a sensational sandwich and a delectable chocolate brownie. You read your book in the sun and you smiled for no reason at all except the world was a wonderful place and you were in it.
I remember days like that, don’t you?
For many people these seem like memories of a different person in a different place. And the reason is, our modern lives are so full of clutter and possessions and details and career and mental baggage and disappointments and limiting beliefs and so on.
Have you ever wondered why it is we have more money, a higher standard of living, and a huge increase in personal labour saving devices compared to people in the 1950s, but we are far more busy, we work longer hours and we are less care-free?
Have you ever experienced firsthand the lives of typical people in developing countries? They have few possessions but they laugh and smile and whistle and dance far, far more than we Western city-dwellers.
This book is partly about creating or re-creating an environment in your life that brings those wonderful days back into your life regularly.
My personal experience is similar. I got too busy, too cluttered, too focused on the wrong things and without even realizing it, I stopped having those really wonderful days on a regular basis. But since I made the decision that I would plan for and set goals for creating a Perfect Lifestyle, those days have come back more and more regularly.
My hope and prayer is the same will happen to you. If your life is heavily cluttered and full of detail and baggage etc, it will take a while to unravel the web you have spun around yourself. But you must do it. Because that is where you destiny is, that is where your freedom is and that is where your Perfect Lifestyle is.
And if you are just starting out, ensure you plan your Perfect Lifestyle now before you tangle this type of web around yourself.
Feeling Great Tip #1 – Move
Most of us live sedentary lifestyles. We sit at desks, we sit in front of computers, we sit with friends, we sit and watch TV and DVDs. But one of the keys to feeling great is regular movement. If you haven’t felt really great for a while, how much are you moving your body? There are lots of simple ways to move more:
Walk. Walk with friends, with your spouse, by yourself. Always walk to the shops or the post office if within walking distance. Always walk up and down stairs in office buildings.
Lymphasise. It is easy to bounce on a rebounder/lymphasiser while you are doing something else. I lymphasise most days in the morning to start my day.
Forced breaks. If you have been sitting at your desk for an hour, set an alarm and force yourself to get up and walk somewhere just for two to three minutes.
Exercise. Build regular exercise into your week. Pick an exercise you most enjoy. Remember this is not about getting fit, it’s just about moving – so don’t push yourself.
Feeling Great Tip #2 – Don’t Move
At the other end of the scale, although we live sedentary lifestyles, we almost never take time out to just “be”. When was the last time you just sat down somewhere quiet, closed your eyes and:
Just breathed?
Just listened?
Just waited?
Just meditated?
Just prayed?
Action Step 17:
Next week make three specific changes in the amount you move. Arrange a walk, take some forced breaks, and walk up stairs instead of taking the elevator.
Action Step 18:
Next week set aside just five minutes a day to just sit in a quiet place on the floor, back straight and legs crossed (chairs and couches are too comfortable, this is not a power nap!), and breathe, listen, wait, meditate, and pray.
If after a week it has not improved how you feel, you have lost nothing! If you feel a lot better, keep doing it until it becomes a habit.
Here is a great video on longevity (nearly twenty minutes long) that confirms these two tips:
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_buettner_how_to_live_to_be_100.html
Rules for Happiness
Some people have rules for when they allow themselves to feel happy.
Here is an example:
“I can only feel happy if I am earning 10% more than last year, and I am in the top three in sales for my company, and I have exercised three times this week, and my weight has not increased since last week, and my mother has not told me she is disappointed with me, and my spouse has told me he/she loves me, and my dog has to run to greet me!”
You might have a similar list, it might even be unconscious. But if you do have a list that has to be fulfilled before you can be happy, you are making it extremely difficult to feel great. Think about whether your personal psychology is requiring you to tick certain boxes before you can allow yourself to be happy. Remember being happy and contented is a choice.
I used to unconsciously feel that when I was trading, I had to be trading profitably to be really happy. That is madness! By definition, on some days I am going to take losses. Why let something completely outside of my control determine my state of happiness?
In order to re-program myself I now have written on my wall:
Every day:
• I am alive;
• Have three beautiful children;
• Have a lovely wife;- is a GREAT day!