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How to Feel Better About Your Life
It’s Metal Monday!
Let’s face it. People gripe about Mondays because they don’t like what’s coming. They’re at a job they hate. They’re in school. Or they’re a stressed housewife dealing with a bunch of kids that are out of control. Monday, to them, represents the first of several days of more of the same.
What they don’t realize is that their experience is determined by the way they think, and the way they think is determined by one thing: INTERPRETATION.
The way you perceive something determines how you feel
What is interpretation? Interpretation is the way you perceive, or understand, something. For example, two people spend the day at an amusement park. One of them is terrified of roller coasters and the other loves them. When they see the roller coaster for the first time, the one who dreads it experiences an increase in heart rate due to fear and starts releasing harmful adrenalin to help deal with the stress.
The one who loves roller coasters gets excited. Their heart rate also increases, but it’s not harmful. Soon, once they get on the ride, the lover of roller coasters will release endorphines (a form of morphine) which create euphoria.
What do you “see” when you look at your life?
What’s the difference between these two people? It’s the same roller coaster, right? They’ll both travel at the same speed. They’ll both feel the same jerking and lifting out of the seat, but they’ll each have a completely different experience. For one, it will be fear. For the other, it will be so good they’ll want to get right back on.
The difference is found in their interpretation of the roller coaster. For one, the roller coaster is an object representing fun. To the other, the roller coaster is an object representing fear. Yet, it’s the exact same roller coaster they both see.
Now, just apply this to your entire life. When you see your kids, do you see stress and work while someone sees the opposite? When you look at your work week, do you dread the next 5-6 days because a boss, co-workers, or the type of work you’ll have to do? When you see your school, do you see nothing but taking a bunch of classes that bore you to tears?
Your change is up to you!
However you see, or interpret, each area of your life—including yourself—is going to determine how you feel. Therefore, a lot of your sadness, stress, or anger is affected by the way you interpret yourself and your circumstances.
This is good news and bad news. The bad news is that it’s not easy to change the way you interpret your life. The good news is that at least it’s up to you.
Here are some ways to start changing your thinking:
List the areas of your life that you feel the most negative about.
Write out how each one can be interpreted positively.
Spend time each day when you awake and go to sleep to meditate on these positive interpretations.
If you do this consistently, you’ll notice your attitude changing over the next 14 days. If you keep it up, and add actions to your thinking, you’ll transform yourself from what you were to someone you never imagined you’d be. You’ll go from fearing the roller coaster to running to it!
In my next eletter, I’ll show you a simple tool you can use to help you dominate your mind and start feeling kick ass throughout the day.
Stay aggressive,
C. J.
copyright by METAL MOTIVATION C.J.
