Just Checking In
This week, as per the title, I am just checking in, that is to say on myself: that what I advocate for others I myself do as well. Also, by shining a light on my own life and reflections I hope to help someone out there in the big wide world. So I thought I would randomly check out some of the posts I have already written to see if walk my talk.
The first post I chose to revisit was “Reframing,” i.e, the way you look at something can drastically shift your perspective on life.
Peter Sage, whose Elite Membership Forum course I propose for women to gain mega confidence and to know their intrinsic worth, used the following quote in his book The Inside Track, and it’s all about reframing:
Two prisoners behind bars
One saw mud, the other saw stars.
Usually I write my Substack post on a Wednesday, or at least start it, but this Wednesday did not go exactly as I planned. I anticipated spending a quiet afternoon sorting through my emails, replying to work ones, noting down dates and a bit of easy administration work and then to write my weekly post. The thing is, due to circumstances seemingly out of my control my plans went up the spout, or down the rabbit hole—anyway, somewhere out of my reach!
That is, my electrician friend turned up to mend my broken electric blind, so instead I hung around handing him screwdrivers or whatever he needed to repair it.
On the brighter side, the proverbial expression, “Let there be light!” seems appropriate here, as I have been living in the kitchen in semi-darkness since Saturday because the blind was down and I was unable to open it.
So, there you go: I have just realized that I reframed the experience.
It’s exactly when we have no hope that we need to reframe to make the best of what is happening in our environment and to us. I know it’s good for me to remember, because when I am on a high and everything is working out then suddenly I might hit the bumps. When that happens, it’s so important to reframe to stop my brain going into a negative spiral. Checking my former post about reframing helps me remember to reframe.
So, next time you feel despondent, try the reframing technique.
In short, reframing doesn’t deny the struggle. It transforms the meaning you give to it, so life feels lighter, more manageable and more hopeful.
Then your changed attitude will be reflected back to you in positive outcomes.
Then I looked at my post “Keeping Your Mojo,” about how there are ways of helping yourself to remain positive.
It’s important to know that the more you practice something the more it becomes second nature.
The more you practice keeping positive the quicker you will arrive at the stage of conscious competence. Also the more you practice the capacity to remain positive, the more it will become second nature.
Remember the different stages of learning?
First, unconscious incompetence.
Next, conscious incompetence.
Most people give up at this stage because they are conscious of their incompetence. But this is where you need to keep going. Know that becoming conscious of your incompetence is part of the process of overcoming it.
So today I walked with a wonderful friend who is great company, supportive and loving. We walked in the spectacular countryside around a medieval village, resourcing ourselves in nature and mutually enjoying our time together.
What better way of keeping your mojo than choosing people who uplift you rather than bring you down?
Finally, I checked on an extract from my post “Families and Holidays.” I think it’s especially important, as I wrote it at the beginning of this new year and it’s already the month of March.
Often we start a new year full of hope and optimism, then all the daily tasks and routine work that we have to do take over from our intentions, hopes and dreams.
We need to be aware of this and keep the mojo going. Especially when we see, feel and experience through the news what is going on in some parts of the world.
It can make us feel so helpless in the face of the conflicts and wars raging all over the planet that are destroying so many people, their homes, families and lives. But despair is simply not the answer. Nor is saying, “What can I do? I’m helpless against what’s going on around me.”
Actually, sorry, but no, you’re not helpless.
I hope this extract from my from “Family and Holidays” post will prove this to you:
Goodness is more contagious than despair.
Human beings amplify each other’s light more than they amplify each other’s darkness.
Your emotional state changes the emotional climate of your community.
Your peace creates measurable ripples of peace around you.
Each of us doing this—quietly, steadily, daily—creates a field of healing larger than we can imagine.
Dawson Church author of the best selling book “The Genie In Your Genes”
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Then there is the Framingham report of a study conducted in the U.S. between 1983 and 2003. The objective was to see if happiness could spread from person to person.
This was the conclusion.
If you are happy, the people you are directly connected to—your neighbors, friends, family—are 34% more likely to be happy.
Their friends (one step removed from you) are 15% more likely to be happy.
And even their friends—people you may never meet—are 6% more likely to experience positive emotions.
In other words, your well-being radiates outward in widening rings of influence.
We become a community that is not passive in the face of suffering, but a living force for good in the world.
To walk my talk here is what I do:
To stay “happy” in most circumstances I meditate for my mental and psychological well being.
I choose my environment and friends for a boost.
I look after my body through tai chi, yoga, tango, walking Spot and pursuing a healthy diet of lots of organic vegetables, etc.
If you like my posts, give me some comments. Please share, too. Let’s create that ripple effect!
All power to us.
Also take a look at my website and what I am proposing:
https://wowfactorunleashed.com/
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Or phone me on WhatsApp: +33695282234. It would be nice if nothing else to connect with some of my readers.
Cherryl