One day you wake up feeling irritated by everyone, focused on "what's wrong" in your life, or just plain apathetic to all of it. This cranky disposition just crept up on you. You may stay in this mood for awhile, but finally you say to yourself, "I hate feeling this way! This is not who I am. I need an attitude adjustment!"
Consider for a moment the possibility that you didn't just fall into your bad mood based on a single event, but that you very gradually became immersed in a lack of happy thoughts due to an absorption of negative energy from the people around you. Perhaps a coworker made an unflattering remark to you the other day, and you've been trying to think of a comeback ever since. Maybe a friend called four times in the past week to vent about how her husband is a jerk and her kids don't appreciate her and trying to be a good friend, you make her feel better by listening to every sordid detail and recalling examples in your own life when loved ones had been insensitive to you as well. The effects of these incidents may not be immediately noticeable, but each one builds upon the one before it, until they attach to you and take hold.
What this means from an energetic point of view is that little by little, your vibration has continually headed lower. It is so subtle sometimes that you don't even realize it until it's too late and has affected your attitude in a big way. Your thoughts increasingly grow overly negative from day to day, gaining momentum, until finally you've had enough! As far as you're concerned, you are unloved and unappreciated, and no one is going to convince you any differently!
So what do we do when we realize we are the guest of honor at our own pity party? Here are three tried-and-true solutions to help you begin feeling like your cheery self again:
1) The Happiness Catalogue:
The Happiness Catalogue is where you write down all of the things you enjoy. For instance, you may list: playing your guitar (which you haven't made time to do in years); taking a bubble bath, going out to the movies; taking your dog for a long walk while the sun shines brightly on your face; or how about baking cookies; putting together a puzzle on the kitchen table; or dancing around the house to your favorite tunes. Maybe you love flowers -- go to the market and buy your special kind and just stare at them all day if you want. After all, this idea is akin to looking through a seed catalogue, full of a variety of beautiful, colorful options that are perfect just for you.
Personal happiness can only come from the experience of joy. No no one can do it for you; it has to come from feeling good on the inside. An imbalance in one's life -- caused by an abundance of negativity and a lack of fun and play -- will eventually manifest into a bad attitude that will be a challenge to shake off. Put balance back into your life by doing things that make you smile.
2) Note to Self:
Try this experiment: Sit down and have your "future self" write a letter to your "current self." Use your imagination and fantasize! The sky's the limit! Tell your "current self" how amazing life is! The "future you" is having the time of his life! The "current you" doesn't have to worry about a thing because that coworker who's always rude to you took a job somewhere else -- you now own your own extremely successful business -- and your friend, who used to constantly complain to you, has never felt better and has nothing to say but positive things! You are able to live in the moment (which really isn't so bad) without thinking about the past or the future, because everything totally works out. Your "future self" is loving life, and that is what you have to look forward to! All you need to do is be here now... the future will take care of itself and the past is old news.
3) E-motion Is Energy in Motion:
When energy moves through us, it takes the form of an emotion. When negative energy is trying to move through us, it takes the form of negative emotion. Therefore, if you've been exposed to lots of negative energy, your body and mind are going to try to release it as such. This is why an adjustment of your attitude may be in order. Crying is an action that comes out from inside and cleanses the emotions. Some people may see crying as a bad thing, making one even sadder. However, the truth is that we feel much better after a good cry! It actually elevates your vibration by making room for the joy to come in. So play some sad songs and just let it all out!
Take responsibility for your mood and choose not to stay in it. Realize that just as this energy moved into you, it must move out. Try not to be around others when in a bad mood so as not to spread the misery. Accept what it is, let it go, and allow yourself to move forward. The moment you start feeling a little depressed or begin having more and more negative thoughts, do not shrug it off and let it get worse. It's a slippery slope. The longer you ignore these emotions, the harder it will be to detach from them and live a happy, emotionally healthy life. Nip it in the bud!
If your life is balanced, and you set aside time on a regular basis to have fun and do things that make you feel happy, then no matter what life and other people "throw" at you, it won't affect you in such a negative way. Everything you encounter will be much, much easier to handle, because your vibration will naturally be higher, and you will not easily attach to the negative energy of others. However, if you wake up one day in a bad mood for "no apparent reason," you'll know that you have been neglecting that part of your life that brings you joy. So browse through your Happiness Catalog, make a "note to self," and know that this too shall pass...
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