Go the “Distance” From Upset to Joy: 3 Minutes

Roberta — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:26:50 +0000

What does that mean? How do you go the distance from upset to joy in three minutes? It isn’t easy but it is simple and you can do it. If it takes a long time to get over an upset and you tend to take things too personally you will want to try this. Try practicing the art of ”placing the problem outside of yourself”: put it on the “shelf”, write about it in a journal, and make it as small as you can (like a grain of sand).

Going the distance from upset to joy is something to be practiced (training yourself to get better and better as you practice). You need: (1) the awareness when you are getting upset and beginning to react to someone or something; (2) realize that you have had many upsets in your lifetime and most have worked out…resolved later…and this upset, too, shall pass. You really don’t want to waste any valuable time being unhappy, do you? (3) Know that when you have scattered or negative energy, no one wants to be around you (you don’t want to be around you!) so you need to change to positive energy. (4) Teach yourself to breathe in a beautiful color very slowly and deeply until your chest and stomache are relaxed. You will be surprised that a smile is (almost) on your face and when you think of something or someone you love…and 3 minutes later…it is there: Joy.

What’s the Rush?

Roberta — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:12:02 +0000

Are you late because of your desire to get as much done as you can in a short period of time? What are the results? When we are late, hurry off and don’t think through what we are doing….we know we are setting our self up to….(choose one or more): (1) Fail miserably (2) stress out with an anxiety attack or find we are shallow breathing or holding our breath (3) hurt ourselves—stub our toe, bump into something, stumble and fall (4) appear out of breath and scattered –which is the truth. (5) Look back on the day and realize it was a blur…remembering only the obvious but not the small, insignificant but important parts of our life.

I am writing this at the beginning of 2010 because I realize that I had too many “blurs” in my life as I think back on it. I just don’t remember consciously, however, since my subconscious remembers everything and never sleeps, it is still inside somewhere. I don’t want the rest of my life to be a blur so I realize I have to be more consciously aware of what I am thinking, saying and doing.

Several months ago I made a decision never to hurry. I am an active person but I don’t need to rush or hurry anywhere because if I do …it means I am wanting to rush past this present moment–not giving any importance to it–and hurrying into the next (more important moment ?). I don’t want to live my life that way….so…

This is how I have helped myself NOT hurry through my busy life: (1) I enjoy the feeling of being early rather than late so I think myself 30 minutes ahead of the deadline. (2) I watch how I am breathing and deliberately take 4 or 5 slow, deep breaths and watch to see what color is in front of my eyes…black, brown or grey are stress colors. (3) I started by playing a game …now it isn’t a game but a part of my reality to listen and notice as much as I can–only taking in what I want to remember and filtering out the rest. (4) I am journaling or writing every day to preserve those special moments that we think we will always remember but we find they become part of the blur when the good, bad and ugly gets mixed in with it.(5) I meditate..I don’t even have to close my eyes every time…just clear and clean and check what it is I am thinking.

May you have a peaceful, interesting, fulfilling, eventful, challenging, beautiful, inspiring, and meaningful life without rushing or hurrying through it. Savor it…it is too short as it is.

Roberta Macdonald » anxiety

Go the “Distance” From Upset to Joy: 3 Minutes

What’s the Rush?