by William Lee Rand
Most of us are familiar with the idea that our mental/emotional state has a lot to do with our enjoyment in life, our creativity and our ability to accomplish goals. If we can keep a positive attitude and maintain an upbeat emotional state, we know from experience that life flows a lot easier. Yet it seems that once in a while things can go wrong and have an adverse affect on how we feel. As an example, you might make a mistake at work, order the wrong product, shred an important document or fail to get a project done on time and then get reprimanded for it – in front of others. Or you might have an idea you think is great, and tell a friend about it only to be told that someone else already thought of it and besides, it didn’t work anyway. Or you could be fired from your job and get in a rut about not being able to find another one right away. Or you may have gotten dumped from a relationship you really wanted to work. Or something like this may have occurred. If we keep thinking about what happened, and allow it to affect our self-worth and our image of ourselves as being competent, we could get dragged down into a state that is less than optimal.
What is needed is a method of reversing your negative feelings and coming out of your negative funk and back up into the bright sunlight of your true positive nature. The reason we sometime fall into negative spaces like this is because we accept the mistaken idea that one or two negative events define who we are, when in reality, it’s likely that you’ve created a lot of really successful events in your life but are unable to recall them or to bring up the healthy, positive feelings they created in your life.
So here’s an exercise that will help you bounce back more quickly and if used regularly, can reduce or even prevent you from entering into an unwanted negative state.
If we take the time to think and meditate on it, it’s easy to remember times when we’ve created positive events in our lives; events in which we were smart and creative in ways that were helpful to ourselves and others. Or someone may have given you a gift in appreciation for something you did or you achieved a particularly worthwhile goal. We’ve all had experiences like this.
I’m going to suggest you do something that is guaranteed to lift your spirits not only while you’re doing it, but will be available to lift you up any time you need it. This is a really wonderful project and well worth the time you put into it. Here are the steps:
Create a Self-Worth Inventory Meditation
- Get a pad of paper, or you could do this on a computer.
- At the top of the page, place the title, “My Self-Worth Inventory.”
- Take a moment to do some Reiki on yourself and send Reiki to the computer or pad of paper. If you have Reiki symbols, use any you’re guided to use. Also, say a prayer asking that you be guided to the most positive, productive and uplifting experiences you’ve ever had.
- Then while continuing to give the project Reiki, allow yourself to drift back in time to an experience when you did something that made you feel really good. This could be an accomplishment of some sort, or it could be something spontaneous that seemed to just happen in your life (knowing that we create everything we experience even when it seems like its just good luck).
- As you start this process, don’t be concerned if you can’t think of any major positive events right way. Write down anything no matter how small it might be. Also focus on events that you consider to be worthwhile and made you feel good even if others weren’t involved.
- When something comes to mind, take a moment to relive the experience and allow all the positive feelings and thoughts you had come welling up and just dwell in them a while.
- Then write down the experience giving it just enough detail to help you identify the event.
- Then continue on and recall another positive event and repeat steps 6 and 7.
- As you continue with this process, you’ll find it easier and easier to recall more events.
- Continue until you have at least 6 or more positive events. Be open to add to your list whenever you remember something else.
- Keep your paper with you and everyday, take 10 – 15 minutes or more to go over your self-worth inventory and allow yourself to drift back into the positive reverie that reviewing the events creates for you.
- If a seemingly negative event takes place in your life rather then dwell on it, instead, pull out your self-worth inventory and go over it. After you’ve done this meditation a while, you won’t need the paper as you will have memorized the events and created new neurological pathways in your psyche that will allow you to enter positive states whenever you want.
By following this process you’ll create a stronger handle on your feelings and more easily be able to enter and maintain a positive mental attitude even when the events of the moment may not be going your way. This process will strengthen your character allowing you to become a person who is bigger than any event that takes place in your life. By maintaining a positive mental attitude, it’ll be easier to accomplish your goals, enjoy your life more completely and experience confidence and self-assuredness as the basis of who you are.
