Have you seen the motivational plaque that reads, "Life is a do-it-yourself project. Get excited about it!"
I
love that expression because it reminds me that it's up to me to make
each day special. That doesn't mean that each moment of every day is
going to be wonderfully smooth, uneventful, and happy. But it does mean
that it is up to me to take action each day to make sure I'm excited
about being in a body and about being alive.
If you're not as
excited about your life as you want to be, take comfort in knowing that
increasing the joy in your is something that you can actually take
control of. Becoming inspired, energized, and fully engaged in your
life is definitely possible! Gaining excitement isn't so much about
working to "fix" yourself as it is learning new skills of acceptance,
emotional flow, and focusing your efforts on activities that have
personal meaning.
There are numerous actions that support your
ability to achieve a higher level of excitement about your own life.
Below are several powerful places to begin:
1. Stop the Drama
Excitement about your life emerges as you gain a deeper capacity to
accept things as they are right now. Often times when things get rough,
it is easy to fall into the worry trap, worrying about the issue,
picking at the problem, and conjuring up the worst-case scenario.
Intense focus on the problem accelerates negative emotions and stirs up
even more chaos.
Acceptance of the situation allows you to stop
flailing about and see the situation in a new light. Life is an
ever-changing flow of moving, breathing, suffering, and hoping. It
includes sorrows and dreams, and the mystery of things actually working
out for the best. You're not having a particular challenge because you
are bad, wrong, or being punished. Instead, you can look at the
situation and bring compassion to yourself. Discover if there is
something to gain from the experience. Often, a difficult challenge
also has within it a transformative power that can assist you in
creating a more fully developed life.
2. Emotional Flow
Obviously, life is not about the absence of emotions. Therefore,
allowing yourself to be excited about being alive involves an
understanding that joy and sorrow are not a mutually exclusive
proposition. Both are possible, and both can occur simultaneously. With
this new definition of wholeness, your life journey is no longer about
attempting to abolish difficult emotions, but learning new strategies
to recognize, accept, and allow emotional flow.
Emotions have
energy, and big emotions have big energy. A key to emotional flow
requires learning to accept emotions as they occur while also attaining
the ability to stand back and let the emotional energy move on through.
I will be the first to admit this is tricky business. It's so easy to
wan to resist uncomfortable emotions, suppress them, or get all tangled
up in them. Mastering emotional flow means doing what we least want to
do - accept emotions, stand behind a short wall, breathe, and let them
flow.
3. Breathe
Conscious breathing is a vital ingredient in the recipe of an
exciting life. Breath instantly lifts your spirits and clears your mind
of negative thoughts and tension. Breath keeps energy moving. In
addition, breath is the choice you make to be alive, to be you, and to
be connected to your wisdom. Decide to breathe consciously throughout
the day. Several times each hour take several deep, fulfilling breaths,
that invigorates you body and rids your body of accumulated heaviness.
4. Practice Optimism
Optimism feels more excited about being alive! If you are not
currently an optimistic person, don't worry - optimism can be learned.
After all if the glass is half-empty, then it's also already half-full.
You can teach yourself to see the other side, despite the little
setbacks, small adversities, disappointments, frustrations, and
letdowns in your everyday experiences. Here are several optimistic
thoughts to practice:
- Things didn't go well today, but there's a lot to be learned from this experience.
- Somehow everything is going to work out for the best.
- There is a future, and you will get through this emotion, situation, or experience.
- Be a friend to yourself when you need it most.
- When life is especially difficult, remember that life happens even to 'good' people.
- Understand that you are part of something bigger.
5. Choose Joy
A starting point to allow a deeper connection to excitement about
your own life is to make a conscious decision that you are tired of
"working" on your life and "working" on your problems. Decide you want
to feel good right now. Then, get busy making simple choices that allow
you to feel good about yourself today. For example:
- Appreciate the love and beauty already in your life.
- Always keep your word to yourself.
- Value your own efforts.
- Instead of focusing on problems, envision solutions.
- Practice self-supportive thoughts.
- Lighten up and don't take yourself so seriously.
- Schedule time every day for relaxation.
- Learn to breathe consciously and deeply.
6. Follow Your Bliss
Over twenty years ago the great American mystic Joseph Campbell
told us that the secret of life was to "Follow Your Bliss." Turns out,
he was right. Follow your instincts and choose actions that make you
happy - both now and in the long-run. For example, if you're feeling
low and you choose sugary sweet comfort foods to lift your spirits, you
may feel good now, but you won't be feeling so good a little while from
now. Following your bliss means looking inside and choosing an action
or activity that allows you to feel more alive. Alive with no regrets
or undesirable consequences. Choose to spend your time and energy on
activities that create a fuller, richer life for yourself.
Excitement
is something we choose. It's something we set forth as a possibility,
and then look for ways to making it happen. This is your life. Is today the day you purposefully get excited about exploring, discovering, and creating?
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