Science shows that feeling & expressing gratitude
is correlated to higher levels of positive emotions, good health, fulfilling relationships, higher coping skills.
Practice appreciating your life – the big, the bad, the small, the good.
Life doesn’t happen to you.
It happens by you.
If you want to change your life,
you have to check all aspects of it –
and if you’ve wanted change for a while
but it hasn’t happened yet,
it means you haven’t checked your ecology.
There’s a reason why most people who smoke have a hard time quitting;
besides the physiological change that happens in taking deep breaths,
there’s often a secondary gain – most of the time, a connection to others.
….
If you’ve ever watched that episode of Friends,
Chandler Bing goes back to smoking cigarettes after quitting
because his new coworkers and supervisor all smoke.
Through the act of smoking,
they all develop a connection and friendship they otherwise don’t share
in the context of work.
….
So remember,
it all serves a purpose.
This week, NLP reminds us that
every behavior is sustained by its ecology.
So be grateful for all of your bad habits,
including the ones that are outdated or archaic.
And only after you’ve assessed what it serves,
acknowledge it, and replace it with something that does.
Your challenge today:
Pick one behavior you don’t like.
Assess why it’s there (what’s it preserving or protecting?).
Be grateful for its purpose.
Then replace it with another behavior
that fulfills that same purpose.
Live with intention. Inspire with love.
(Photo courtesy of @oulashin)