The other day I woke up feeling groggy, sleep deprived and although I hate to admit it I was not overly enthused to start my day. I was in the middle of a huge working week, I hadn’t slept much the night before and I was over committed in my schedule which always leads me to feeling overwhelmed. Every morning before I get out of bed I set my intentions for the day. This is a mindfulness practice that I have been following for years and it has always served me well yielding powerful results throughout my life. On this day however I rushed through this practice and I set the simple intention “I Just Want to Feel Good”. I did not go into specifics, I didn’t have grand visions or inspirations I was holding on to. The fact was that in the shitty state of being I was experiencing upon rising all I wanted was to feel good again. Simple.
So I started my day and got on with things having planted this little seed in my consciousness. I found myself asking the question “will this make me feel good?” over and over again during the day in all my encounters. In my working day every decision I listened to the little voice inside me asking “will this make me feel good?” and I acted accordingly whether the answer was a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It made so many difficult decisions easier for me and I actually cleared out some of my calendar eliminating all the stuff that was not going to make me feel good, regardless of what I ‘should’ do. I used this question again to decide my food choices for the day. Deciding what and when to eat I asked “will this make me feel good?” allowing my own intuitive advice (that was so presently available for me) to answer and make the choices for me. I was back in my flow and feeling energised and clear just by asking myself this little question and letting my intuition and body’s response answer for me. It was honestly so simple and I was amazed at how much energy it cleared from my system.
Because it all comes down to this; self honoring choices.
So often we say ‘yes’ when we want to say no. We don’t take proper care of ourselves because we are under the illusion that self care is selfish or we don’t deserve it. And the worst of all (my own personal pet hate) the glorification of being busy; filling our schedules to the brim serving the illusion that we are succeeding, productive and important. It is only when you break it all down and ‘unpack’ the decisions you make one can clearly see that we often do what we ‘should’ do, what’s expected of us, or what we think we have to instead of the things that, quite simply, make us feel good.
So this shitty day turned into being a hugely empowering day for me and I have continued making ‘feeling good’ my primary intention. I have since turned down a huge speaking gig, an interview on a large and well-known blog that and even attending some cool parties because when I asked the question “will this make me feel good?” I received a clear ‘no’ deep from within my body. And I tell you what, making self-honoring choices is extremely powerful and for a reformed people pleaser like myself it is starting to feel so damn good to (finally!) be able to say ‘NO’. Plus I have added in activities and things that make me feel good in my life on a daily basis. My general benchmark is how much I am laughing, it’s a clear indicator on how my energy is flowing throughout all aspects of my life. If I am not laughing hard, out aloud with sore cheeks and a loose belly every single day I know that something inside me needs to shift. Laughter is my barometer to assess how good I am truly feeling.
Now I ask you my friends;
What are the primary intentions you set for yourself?
Do you find it difficult to say ‘no’ to people?
What do you do that makes you come alive, feel energised and happy?
What state of being do you want to experience?
Are you making self-honoring choices in your life?
My wish is that you too start to do things, eat things, experience things and experimenting with things that make you feel good, like really, really good! The world needs happy people and it starts with us.
With Love,
Kate X