I’ve been reading The Power of Story: Change Your Story, Change Your Destiny, In Business and In Life by Jim Loehr.
The book was worth the price for this one tidbit alone: Loehr says that your reality changes depending on how you feel.
For example, the other day I was in an unusually great mood, and my husband was in an unusually bad mood. And as luck would have it, our toddler’s 2-year-oldness was busting out in full force that day. But my reality was that our son was a little fussy and needed some extra love, which I gladly gave — and my husband’s reality was that his day was ruined.
And it’s happened the other way around, too: When I’m feeling down, when my husband says “I don’t want to go for a walk today” I think, “He doesn’t like spending time with me! Our marriage is in jeopardy!” When I’m feeling great, I think, “Oh, the poor guy is tired — I’ll make him a cup of coffee.”
When we’re feeling down, ill, stressed, or generally unhealthy, we tend to see the world through a negative lens — and when that happens, we attract more negative circumstances into our life, because that’s what we’re paying more attention to.
Ever notice how something like a near miss in a parking lot can be catastrophic or a blessing, depending on how you’re feeling that day? If you’re ill, it’s just one more horrible thing that happened to you that day. If you’re feeling on top of the world, it’s a learning experience and a chance to show off your Zen living skills.
Knowing that our reality changes depending on how we feel, it’s our imperative to do what we can to feel great every day. If we don’t take care of ourselves, our entire world and life experience can change for the worse.
But if we put a priority on exercising, eating in a way that nourishes us, and taking time to relax and connect with others — then we experience our best life. And this creates an upward spiral that catches up our loved ones as well.
What do you think? Have you ever noticed how your reality changes depending on how you feel? Let’s hear your stories in the Comments below!
Hi Linda:
Absolutely.
When I exercise and eat right, there is nothing I can’t accomplish because I have extra energy. However, it goes well beyond that. Being in good health (and most likely looking good) changes your entire outlook. You’re able to address life issues with more patience and confidence.
Steve
Thanks, Steve! Yes, that’s exactly it…you gain patience and confidence when you’re feeling your best. I was reminded of that this weekend when I finally got some rest on this 2-week road trip. Suddenly, my patience was restored.
Spot. On. Couldn’t have said it better. The only annoying bit is that it takes a constant…not effort…but consciousness to stay on that upward spiral. A few too many distractions and we’re facing down again…Here’s to ‘movin’ on up,’ eh/
So true! It’s so difficult to stay conscious and not fall into the trap of treating ourselves poorly.
Perception is most if not all, although some of us are blessed with many more opportunities to pursue health (by genetics, life circumstance, and so on): bought tickets for a wonderful Zumba event, sad in the night that I could not get the best tickets offered, but in the morning when I realized how many had not gotten tickets at all I was reminded again of the blessing of HAVING tickets and the health to go dance (freedom of choice to exercise, and be positive, and give that bouquet of gifts to others…)
Great insights, Carol!