In this week's episode, we explore the notion that our general outlook on life is dictated by our emotional habits.
How do you improve your outlook on life? You identify your bad emotional habits – and change them.
Our Feature Presentation
Emotions are habits and that's great news, because habits can be changed.
Before I go any further let me clarify…Obviously, not all emotions are habits. Some emotions are genuine responses to your present, personal situation, but those are not what I'm talking about today.
I'm talking about the emotional defaults – the mood you naturally gravitate to.
For instance, we all know someone who seems to be grumpy most of the time. It might fluctuate a little, but “grumpy” seems to be their default state regardless of the circumstances.
On the other end of the spectrum, we all know someone who seems to be perpetually happy…sometimes annoyingly so.
So is that just how it is? Some people are generally angry and there's nothing they can do about it? I'm proposing that people can in fact change their general disposition by acknowledging the underlying emotions and dealing with them.
People who are generally angry will look for reasons to be angry. And with the endless supply of 2020 news, they don't have to look very hard.
If you tend to live in this zone of frustration and anger, you should make an effort to focus on different things. Try to avoid the things that irritate you the most and focus on things that inspire you and bring you joy. I'm not suggesting that you bury your head in the sand and ignore the world around you, but rather to recognize the things that are negatively influencing your mood and try not to dwell on them. Distract yourself! Stop reading the endless supply of negative posts in your social media feed and engage in some physical activity.
The main point is this: Don't just decide that you “identify as angry” and that's your fate. Treat this like any other lifestyle change. Stop fueling your mind with things that aren't healthy for you. Make a conscious decision to change your mental habits in the same way you would for physical habits. (Less cupcakes, more carrots… Less news, more music)
This is not meant to be an easy, quick-fix. Longterm, deeply engrained habits are never a quick fix. They take work to change, but they are changeable.
Once you succeed, you might find that those perpetually happy people aren't so annoying after all.
Links From this weeks Episode
6 Figure Small Group Intensive (December 17th-19th)
Questions about the show? You can text me anytime at 509-245-2670
