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December 10 - December 20, 2023
Positive affirmations are sentences you repeat to yourself on a regular basis until your subconscious mind accepts them as true.
Proper breathing benefits you in different ways. Slowing your breathing helps reduce anxiety.
Eight breathing cycles per minute: Relief from stress and increased awareness. Four breathing cycles per minute: Intense feelings of awareness, increased visual clarity, heightened bodily sensitivity.
One breathing cycle per minute: Optimized cooperation between brain hemispheres, dramatic calming of anxiety, fear, and worry.
Rapid breathing such as the Breath of Fire, allows you to release stress, be more alert and have more en...
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when I feel demotivated, decluttering my desk, cleaning my room, or reorganizing files on my computer often gives me a boost of motivation.
studies have shown that listening to positive music can help people boost their mood.
Specifically, the most significant results of the music interventions on the psychological side can be identified in the aspects more closely related to mood, especially in the reduction of the depressive and anxiety’s component, and in the improvement of the emotional expression, communication and interpersonal skills, self-esteem and quality of life.
As an athlete, I developed an ideal mindset for peak performance and used an arsenal of time-tested songs to fortify this alter ego and invincible state of mind. During my training and races it became obvious that even in really horrible weather conditions, or when I was physically suffering, that I could use music (and my imagination) to create a parallel universe that had little to do with reality. I used music to stay optimistic and see the glass as perpetually half-full while doing ultra-endurance races. You can use music as a tool when you work out or in your daily life the same way.
don’t listen to a song because it’s popular. Listen to it because it makes you feel the way
you want to feel. We all have different musical tastes. The only thing that matters is how you feel when you listen to music. Keep experimenting: Listen to different types of music and see how they make you feel.
The mind always seeks to deny the Now and to escape from it.
the more you are able to honor and accept the Now, the more you are free of pain, of suffering—and free of the egoic mind.
When a thought emerges on the canvas of your mind, if you don’t drop it, its pursuit will either take the form of a desire or an emotion, positive or negative.
let’s differentiate two types of negative emotions. The first type are the negative emotions you experience spontaneously.
The second type of negative emotions are the ones you create in your mind by identifying with your thoughts. These emotions aren’t necessarily triggered by external events—although they may be. These emotions tend to last longer than the first type.
when you give thoughts room to exist, they spread and become major points of focus.
Interpretation + identification + repetition = strong emotion
Interpretation: is when you interpret an event or a thought based on your personal story. Identification: is when you identify with a specific thought as it arises. Repetition: is having the same thoughts over and over. Strong emotion: is when you experience an emotion so many times it has become part of your identity. You then experience that emotion whenever a related thought or event triggers it.
Negative emotions always result from your interpretation of events.
why do you keep experiencing negative emotions? I believe it’s because reality fails to meet your expectations.
Emotions cannot persist unless you give them your attention. The more you focus on your emotions—and identify with them—the more powerful they become.
People often feel the urge to identify with their emotions and find themselves unable to disengage from them. They fail to realize one of the most important truths in this world: you are not your emotions. Your emotions will come and they will go.
An emotion in itself is powerless. What gives it power is your conscious or unconscious identification with it. That’s why an emotion given no attention will eventually fade away.
People often do this. They waste time holding onto negative emotions that serve no purpose just because they can’t let go of them.
The sight of a slaughterhouse may trigger a negative emotion in you, whereas it may be positive for the business owner and natural for the machine operator. It all depends on how you are conditioned.
Learning from your past is useful, dwelling on it isn’t.
what differentiates people who live a happy life from people who are miserable is often how they choose to interpret their lives.
Emotions are just emotions. They are not you, they are not facts, and you can let them go.
interpretation, identification and repetition can lead to the creation of strong emotions.
We need to declutter our subconscious and get rid of the negative emotions preventing us from enjoying life to the fullest.
Whenever you experience a negative emotion, simply observe it with as much detachment as you can.
emotions are merely temporary experiences, or if you prefer, clothes you wear for a while. They aren’t ‘you.’
The more you become aware of your emotions, the more you can label them and detach yourself from them, and the easier it will be to let go of these emotions.
there are three different ways to release your emotions as they arise.
Let them go. When you experience negative emotions, you can consciously choose to release them rather than repressing them or clinging to them Allow them to be here. You can allow them by acknowledging their existence without clinging to them, or you can Welcome them. You can accept them and have a closer look at them to discover what the core of these emotions are.
Try to see that a thought about a person or event is merely a thought about that person or event. It is the thought about them that makes you feel the way you do. To change the way you feel, change the way you think.
To take control of your emotions, it is essential you understand the role your thoughts play in generating emotions in general. Your thoughts activate certain emotions, and these emotions, in turn, generate more thoughts. Thoughts and emotions then feed each other.
Thoughts generate emotions and emotions dictate your actions.
one of the most important skills you can master is your ability to control your thoughts and emotions.
Confident people deposit positive thoughts in their mind each day. They celebrate their small wins and treat themselves with compassion and respect.
Interpretation: Visualizing certain events or generating particular thoughts you see as positive. Identification: Identifying with these events or thoughts by feeling the way you want to feel. To do this you can use all the techniques we mentioned in the section, ‘What impacts your emotions,’ such as positive affirmations and visualization. Repetition: Keep repeating the same thoughts and identifying with them. By doing so, you allow your mind to access the related emotions more easily.
If you want to have more confidence in your ability to achieve your goals, visualize yourself as having already accomplished them, and feel good about it.
To boost your self-esteem, keep track of your daily accomplishments.
To practice the 5 Second Rule, you can start with small things. Make a list of things you procrastinate over. Perhaps you put off washing the dishes, or cleaning your home. Maybe, you delay calling someone or sending some emails. Write it down. Now, select a couple of things on which you’ll use the 5 Second Rule. Commit to using the rule for at least a week. When you think of washing the dishes, calling someone, or *insert your chosen task*, count down from five to zero, and take action before you reach zero.
Common mistakes to avoid when conditioning your mind: As you condition your mind to experience more positive emotions, avoid making the following mistakes: Trying to implement too many changes at once: Stick to one or two exercises for a month or so before trying any other exercises. Starting too big: Keep it small and make sure the exercises aren’t too challenging.
Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together, and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not.
watching TV can be fun, it’s also a passive activity which may not contribute much to your happiness.
People you hang out with have a tremendous influence on your emotional state. Positive people will lift you up and help you achieve your wildest dreams. Negative people will suck up your energy, demotivate you and destroy your potential.
Leaving tasks and projects unfinished in your personal and professional life can have a detrimental effect on your mood. Unfinished business clutters your mind. Feeling overwhelmed or demotivated, is a sign you may have too many ‘open loops’ in your life.
