I Don't Feel Good
A lot of people don’t feel good. They don’t feel good about themselves or their lives or the economy or the election or the government or their relationships or all of the above or sometimes a bunch of those things in succession one right after the other.
But those are all things on the outside and even though we might think those things are bothering us, the truth is that most of our discontent comes from inside ourselves. Once we are secure in who we are and we actually like the person that we are, the things that are outside of us tend to lose their power over how we feel.
When we like who we are inside, our days become infinitely brighter, infinitely more enjoyable and we wind up liking the person we spend the most time with on a daily basis.
So here is a good way to start.
Just Make A List
You don’t need to wait until you get to the stationery store to buy that 25 dollar blank book that won’t lay open flat on the table anyway. You don’t need to hunt through 50 different websites to find the one that sends fancy blank book with free shipping. And you don’t need to put this on your Christmas or birthday list.
Just get a notebook and a pencil or a pen from Wal-Mart or Target or the department store where you live. Or if you’ve got one left over kicking around the house, grab that one.
Number the paper like it shows in this image and start writing. Don’t stop until you have at least 5 things written there. Yes. The list has 16 spaces, but you can come back to it later if you run out of ideas. But to start with, write down 5.
It doesn’t matter what those things are. Well, yes, true enough, don’t put down things like “I like myself because I am not quite as ugly as my sister”. Instead you would put down something like “I like how I look in jeans”
This is a simple system, it has worked for hundreds of people, and can work for you too.
Start right now, even if you don’t have a notebook, just get a piece of paper, you can transfer the list over to a notebook when you get one. But start right now.
Filed under: Being Happy • Incredible Images
Many of the most powerful techniques for success and well being are far from complicated, Michael.
You give a great example of that right here.
The real take-away message for me is that Action always trumps intention. Just get into the flow, no matter how simple it may seem. The results can be enormous.
David Merrill recently posted..The Continuity Product | Internet Marketing’s Holy Grail
Thank you for your kind words, David.
I was just thinking about that today, how complicated we make things sometimes, and like you are saying, some of the most powerful ideas in the world are so profoundly simple. I like that idea a lot.
Hi Michael,
I really like this approach for reminding ourselves of who we really are. Often times the mind can have one negative thought accompanied by several more and the next thing we know we are having delusions about ourselves.
Justin Mazza recently posted..What I Learned by Switching Commenting Systems and Than Completely Turning Comments Off
Thank you for your kind words, Justin.
It is kind of odd how those negative thoughts can start spinning our of control without us even noticing them sometimes. Less delusions = more excellent living.
Great article Michael and I love your ‘just do it’ advice! It’s so tempting to fall into the trap of thinking that the perfect tool or gadget is required in order to take the first step. How many of those gadgets end up gathering dust as we move on to the next project and the next …
marquita herald recently posted..Mentoring: Sharing Lives, Building Futures
Thank you Marty,
Maybe its that delayed gratification kind of idea we are taught is the right way to live, I am not sure. Perhaps sometimes that is the right way to think, but applying it to waiting for “something” until we start to feel better, not so much, I think.
Michael, I absolutely agree on spending money on a good journal. Otherwise the marble book gets tossed aside. Great psychology here. I have recommended the same thing to my clients and it does work.
I often do exercises like this and they do work. Thanks for spreading this helpful message,
Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Stop Horsing Around On The Internet
It is so true, Donna, that it takes mostly just getting up and starting. Lots of time later to edit, to change around a little bit or to modify, but it’s hard to do those things if we never start.
Hi Michael,
What a great idea! It’s simple and powerful. I read the post and followed your instructions and it was an uplifting experience. It was actually fun thinking of why I like myself. I have learned that my positive thoughts are directly related to the way I see the world.
I subscribed to your list last week and I appreciate receiving ALOL news every morning. It is a great way to start the day with positive thoughts! Thanks!
Raena Lynn
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Hi Raena,
It happens so much that we get inundated with ideas on self-betterment and they start with listing all the things we don’t like about ourselves. Why not start with the things we do like and use those a foundation to build our own self esteem even higher. I am glad you are liking the Messages From ALOL, I’ve been writing those everyday for 5 years and it has been a wonderful experience. I love it
Hey Michael,
Once again you have written a really powerful post, I made a short list this morning and this is what it looks like.
1)I like myself because I feed my pets every morning.
2)I like myself because I treat my parents nicely.
3)I like how I tackle my anger when arguing with my gf.
4)I love my surroundings and the beautiful city where I live.
5)I like myself cause my GF loves me
Hi Allen, your list looks pretty darn good to me. Rock on.
This is a simple yet powerful technique Michael!
It is so easy to fall into the self defeating self dialog, doing this exercise might seem difficult and the more we do it the more we learn to love and appreciate ourselves.
By doing this we let go of emotional dependency and bad habits much easier
Patricia Gozlan recently posted..Does Joy Affect Your Health Or the Other Way Around?
It is simple, so often we make things so complex for ourselves and wind up getting overwhelmed and then practicing our self defeat behaviors. Maybe not all issues can be resolved with a list, but its a pretty good way to get organized for starting.
Michael,
Great advice, the fantastic thing about writing down your wishes is you then focus on what you need to do to achieve them.
Rosemary
It really does help to write them down. It is almost as if they become real when you do that. From teh realm of thought into the realm of the physical.