FriendBurst Blog

Get Excited About Your Life!
by Annette Colby, PhD

Have you seen the motivational plaque that reads,

“Life is a do-it-yourself project. Get excited about it!”

I love that expression because it reminds me

that it’s up to me to make each day special.

That doesn’t mean that each moment of every day

is going to be wonderfully smooth,

uneventful, and happy. But it does mean

that it is up to me to take action each day

to make sure I’m excited about being

in a body and about being alive.

If you’re not as excited about your life

as you want to be,take comfort in knowing

that increasing the joy in your life is something

that you can actually take control of.

Becoming inspired, energized, and fully engaged

in your lifeis definitely possible! Gaining excitement

isn’t so much about working to “fix” yourself

as it is learning new skills of acceptance,

emotional flow, and focusing your efforts on activities

that have personal meaning.

There are numerous actions that support your

ability to achieve a higher level of excitement

about your own life.

Below are several powerful places to begin:

1. Stop the Drama

Excitement about your life emerges as you

gain a deeper capacity to accept things as

they are right now. Often times when things

get rough, it is easy to fall into the worry trap,

worrying about the issue, picking at the problem,

and conjuring up the worst-case scenario.

Intense focus on the problem accelerates negative

emotions and stirs up even more chaos.

Acceptance of the situation allows you to

stop flailing about and see the situation in a

new light. Life is an ever-changing flow of moving,

breathing, suffering, and hoping. It includes

sorrows and dreams, and the mystery of things

actually working out for the best. You’re not having

a particular challenge because you are bad, wrong,

or being punished. Instead, you can look at the situation

and bring compassion to yourself. Discover if there is

something to gain from the experience. Often, a difficult

challenge also has within it a transformative power that

can assist you in creating a more fully developed life.

2. Emotional Flow

Obviously, life is not about the absence of emotions.

Therefore, allowing yourself to be excited about being alive

involves an understanding that joy and sorrow are not a

mutually exclusive proposition. Both are possible, and both

can occur simultaneously. With this new definition of wholeness,

your life journey is no longer about attempting to abolish

difficult emotions, but learning new strategies to recognize,

accept, and allow emotional flow.

Emotions have energy, and big emotions have big energy.

A key to emotional flow requires learning to accept emotions

as they occur while also attaining the ability to stand back

and let the emotional energy move on through.

I will be the first to admit this is tricky business.

It’s so easy to wan to resist uncomfortable emotions,

suppress them, or get all tangled up in them.

Mastering emotional flow means doing what we

least want to do – accept emotions, stand behind

a short wall, breathe, and let them flow.

3. Breathe

Conscious breathing is a vital ingredient in the

recipe of an exciting life.

Breath instantly lifts your spirits and clears your mind

of negative thoughts and tension.

Breath keeps energy moving. In addition,

breath is the choice you make to be alive,

to be you, and to be connected to your wisdom.

Decide to breathe consciously throughout the day.

Several times each hour take several deep,

fulfilling breaths, that invigorates your body and

rids your body of accumulated heaviness.

4. Practice Optimism

Optimism feels more excited about being alive!

If you are not currently an optimistic person,

don’t worry – optimism can be learned.

After all if the glass is half-empty,

then it’s also already half-full.

You can teach yourself to see the other side,

despite the little setbacks, small adversities,

disappointments, frustrations, and letdowns in

your everyday experiences.

Here are several optimistic thoughts to practice:

* Things didn’t go well today, but there’s a lot

to be learned from this experience.

* Somehow everything is going to work out for the best.

* There is a future, and you will get through this

emotion, situation, or experience.

* Be a friend to yourself when you need it most.

* When life is especially difficult, remember that life

happens even to ‘good’ people.

* Understand that you are part of something bigger.

5. Choose Joy

A starting point to allow a deeper connection to

excitement about your own life is to make a

conscious decision that you are tired of “working”

on your life and “working” on your problems.

Decide you want to feel good right now.

Then, get busy making simple choices that allow

you to feel good about yourself today.

For example:

* Appreciate the love and beauty already in your life.

* Always keep your word to yourself.

* Value your own efforts.

* Instead of focusing on problems, envision solutions.

* Practice self-supportive thoughts.

* Lighten up and don’t take yourself so seriously.

* Schedule time every day for relaxation.

* Learn to breathe consciously and deeply.

6. Follow Your Bliss

Over twenty years ago the great American mystic

Joseph Campbell told us that the secret of life was to

“Follow Your Bliss.” Turns out, he was right.

Follow your instincts and choose actions

that make you happy – both now and in the long-run.

For example, if you’re feeling low and you choose

sugary sweet comfort foods to lift your spirits,

you may feel good now, but you won’t be feeling so good

a little while from now. Following your bliss means looking

inside and choosing an action or activity that allows you

to feel more alive. Alive with no regrets or undesirable

consequences. Choose to spend your time and energy

on activities that create a fuller, richer life for yourself.

Excitement is something we choose. It’s something

we set forth as a possibility, and then look for ways

to making it happen.

This is your life.

Is today the day you purposefully get excited

about exploring, discovering, and creating?

Love & Light,
♥Angel Love♥