I believe there is nothing more beneficial for your optimal health and well-being than how you are feeling right now in this moment. It can be argued that many external circumstances influence and/or dictate how you feel. I do not refute those arguments. I know there are days that I receive a piece of unpleasant news or something I was counting on doesn’t come through and I spiral downward into an emotional dark pit. However, I also know that slight adjustments in my internal world (e.g. deep, deliberate breathing, focusing my thoughts on something inspiring, becoming quiet for five minutes or more) make a difference in the way that I feel and often clears some “space” for new perspectives to enter into my mind. Also, I have learned that shifts in body language (e.g. standing up a little taller, pulling the shoulders back, coaxing a little smile (even if I don’t feel like it)) send signals from my body to my mind inviting my thoughts and feelings to remember what feeling good looks and feels like (muscle memories associated with good feelings can actually change your mood). Furthermore, activities in my external world (e.g. exercise, a walk in nature, listening to inspiring music, viewing works of art, observing other people who are in a good mood, laughing at something funny in a movie, on tv, or in print (like the comics section of the paper)) can also strongly affect my emotional state.
Daily, I am checking in with myself to see how I am feeling. If there is room to feel just a bit better (and there always seems to be room for this), I consciously create a slight shift in my thoughts, my body, and/or my activities. These slight shifts make a huge difference in my day. And, since there is nothing that affects the experience of my day-to-day life more than how I am feeling in the moment, I make “feeling my best” a priority. Don’t take my word for it, try it yourself!
With feeling,
Mark Edgar Stephens
Mark Edgar Stephens' Inspiration Blog 