All else being equal, the happier you are, the longer and healthier your life. Anger, stress, gloominess, melancholy, downheartedness, the blahs, the funk, the blues: they all impact you, weigh your body down, create reactions which reduce the effectiveness of your immune system. Fortunately, there is a cure and a relatively easy one at that. We all have the ability to manage our moods! Like any skill, directing your emotions (and the thoughts/stories we tell that generate them) may take time to develop fully but self-direction, self-motivation is a powerful tool to have in our life management toolbox.
We may not always be able to control the thoughts that come to mind but we CAN control the thoughts that stay in mind! We can choose where to focus our attention, where to direct our energies. When you make the effort to consciously look for the good, you see things for which to be grateful, small acts of kindness or goodness to appreciate and compliment, chances to smile, to laugh, to feel joy and contentment. These small moments of bliss add up quickly, generating a sense of peaceful contentment and serenity. Plus micro moments of positivity add up: the “extent to which we can generate positive emotions from even everyday activities can determine who flourishes and who doesn’t.” (NYT: Turning Negative Thinkers Into Positive Ones 4/3/17)
Closing Quote:
“Man is made or unmade by himself;
in the armory of thought
he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself;
he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself
heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace.”
– James Allen, As a Man Thinketh
As always, I share what I most want/need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier