With practice , we can create small habits of thinking and awareness to help us feel our best throughout the ups and downs of our day .
Often , our default pattern is to move forward on autopilot . Instead of resetting , we carry — or drag — the minor mishaps and major problems of the world around with us for the rest of our day .
Luckily , each day is divided into multiple intervals of time . Each new experience we walk into contains its own unique opportunity to reset and feel different . With practice , we can create small habits of thinking and awareness to help us feel our best throughout the ups and downs of our day .
Feeling our best isn ’ t about ignoring uncomfortable emotions or smothering our experience of life with so-called positive thinking . Feeling our best is about recognizing we have a say in how we move forward . It ’ s about consciously choosing what we continue to give life to , and how we treat ourselves in the process . Feeling our best is giving ourselves permission to reset and experience our next period of time , bringing the truest version of ourselves into the equation .
How do we actually bring this practice into everyday life ? you may ask .
It may seem counterintuitive , but feeling our best takes practice . I practice . In nitty gritty terms , I set myself up to feel good throughout the day by talking to myself . Out loud . It sounds weird , I know .
But as I age , I worry less and less about what seems weird . Embrace the weird . The next part is fun !
Here are the sorts of things I say to myself to set up a different feeling moving forward . Use what you like , leave what you don ’ t . Make your own list of pep phrases and powerful questions that inspire you to switch out of autopilot and focus intentionally on what you most want to experience .
• Wrap up every obvious interval with words of compassion :
• Well , maybe that wasn ’ t pretty , but that ’ s okay . I ’ m okay . I ’ ve got this .
• That felt great . I really enjoyed that experience and the people in it . Lucky me !
• Oh dear , I wish I didn ’ t say or do that . I can ’ t change that now . Sigh . But I can reach out and own my part . I can move forward from an accountable place .
• Whew , that was hard . A disaster , really . Oh , well . What can I do at this point ? Hmm … not much . I think a reset is in order . New opportunity coming right up !
• I feel really sad / upset / mad / jealous . I needed to let that out . It ’ s okay to feel what I ’ m feeling .
• I ’ m not going to allow others to dictate