Lift Me Up Community Group
I wanted to create a place you can come and feel wanted, inspired, and happy. I post a lot of stuff on various topics, much of it motivational and inspiring, and sometimes just humorous. Feel free to contribute anything you feel is helpful to others here and join in. No negative crap please, or politics, check them at the door. Welcome. G
I thought I would post this as I think it would be a good reminder for anyone.
Life is never without challenges. Fact is, problems are a normal and natural part of life. That said, if you are going through a rough patch, it can feel very personal and unfair, among other things. What most of us forget is that any emotional state is just that - a state. It is never permanent. It is not even real (feels like it, yes I know, but bear with me).
I remember something I learned many years ago, that I recently had to re-remind myself of again: states are nothing more than electro-chemical storms in your brain. They exist in your head and only in your head. They are no more permanent or solid than quicksand. AND, you can always change them. Instantly.
Emotion is intimately tied to motion, and the reverse is equally true too. In other words, when you are feeling depressed, for example, you have to do very specific things with your body in order to feel depressed. Same goes for feeling any emotion, positive or negative. By simply changing your physical state to that of one which makes you feel better, you instantly start to feel better.
Let me give you an example here: Last year, I wrote a post called 'Do the Dance' (if you are not listed as a friend, you will not be able to access, so friend me if you want to see it - it's in my journal)
http://www.dailystrength.org/people/4181191/journal/11739813
I had had a rotten week, nothing but challenges and was not feeling the best. I then wrote the aforementioned article and posted a silly gif of me dancing. It illustrates my point here perfectly. You CAN change your state any time you like by adopting the body posture and other mannerisms that go along with the state you want. You can always, puff your chest out, put your shoulders back, breathe more deeply, and slap a big grin on your face for no reason. Childish? Perhaps. Effective? You bet - works like a charm. It all depends on how bad you want to get out of a painful state and put yourself in a more resourceful one.
See, here's the rub: If you are feeling anxious, depressed, or even really sad, chances are very good you have allowed yourself to feel trapped too. From that state, you will find it very difficult to think up creative solutions - they are all there, believe it or not, it's just accessing them is very hard. A large part of your brain, the corpus callosum (think of it as a big switchboard connecting your left and right hemispheres) actually shuts down when you are very stressed, which is why you feel like you cannot think your way out of a paper bag.
Recently, I have gone through some MAJOR upheavals and I allowed myself to feel panicked. That is NOT me, and rarely do I allow myself to feel that way, but overwhelm is a bitch. Anyway, I snapped myself out of it with this fix. Once you do, you will start to see things in a better light. My old friend perception rears it's head again - life is ALL ABOUT YOUR PERCEPTIONS. I did it. YOU CAN TOO. Why not give it a try? Cummon...you know you want to...;)
Your friend,
Grant
Life is never without challenges. Fact is, problems are a normal and natural part of life. That said, if you are going through a rough patch, it can feel very personal and unfair, among other things. What most of us forget is that any emotional state is just that - a state. It is never permanent. It is not even real (feels like it, yes I know, but bear with me).
I remember something I learned many years ago, that I recently had to re-remind myself of again: states are nothing more than electro-chemical storms in your brain. They exist in your head and only in your head. They are no more permanent or solid than quicksand. AND, you can always change them. Instantly.
Emotion is intimately tied to motion, and the reverse is equally true too. In other words, when you are feeling depressed, for example, you have to do very specific things with your body in order to feel depressed. Same goes for feeling any emotion, positive or negative. By simply changing your physical state to that of one which makes you feel better, you instantly start to feel better.
Let me give you an example here: Last year, I wrote a post called 'Do the Dance' (if you are not listed as a friend, you will not be able to access, so friend me if you want to see it - it's in my journal)
http://www.dailystrength.org/people/4181191/journal/11739813
I had had a rotten week, nothing but challenges and was not feeling the best. I then wrote the aforementioned article and posted a silly gif of me dancing. It illustrates my point here perfectly. You CAN change your state any time you like by adopting the body posture and other mannerisms that go along with the state you want. You can always, puff your chest out, put your shoulders back, breathe more deeply, and slap a big grin on your face for no reason. Childish? Perhaps. Effective? You bet - works like a charm. It all depends on how bad you want to get out of a painful state and put yourself in a more resourceful one.
See, here's the rub: If you are feeling anxious, depressed, or even really sad, chances are very good you have allowed yourself to feel trapped too. From that state, you will find it very difficult to think up creative solutions - they are all there, believe it or not, it's just accessing them is very hard. A large part of your brain, the corpus callosum (think of it as a big switchboard connecting your left and right hemispheres) actually shuts down when you are very stressed, which is why you feel like you cannot think your way out of a paper bag.
Recently, I have gone through some MAJOR upheavals and I allowed myself to feel panicked. That is NOT me, and rarely do I allow myself to feel that way, but overwhelm is a bitch. Anyway, I snapped myself out of it with this fix. Once you do, you will start to see things in a better light. My old friend perception rears it's head again - life is ALL ABOUT YOUR PERCEPTIONS. I did it. YOU CAN TOO. Why not give it a try? Cummon...you know you want to...;)
Your friend,
Grant
thislpass
Oh yeah, ps....if you feel like you don't want to smile, friend me and have a gander at me doing the silly dance - that should pep you up enough:)
yougospam
Great post!! I love your happy dance, always good for a smile (and I admit a chuckle). Hugs
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