Take Back Control of your Life with Positive Emotions
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Let’s face it, 2020 has not been the year most of us expected or hoped for. For many, it’s been one of the most difficult years of their lives. With uncertainty, loneliness, heartache, fear, anger, and stress at an all-time high, you’ve likely experienced your fair share of bad days, difficult times, and negative emotions.
If you’re feeling anxious, lonely, sad, or down, you are not alone. There are many things outside of your control – the pandemic, natural disasters, heated politics and unemployment, to name a few. But there is one thing you can control each and every day - what's going on inside you.
In the words of Viktor Frankl,
“Everything can be taken from us but one thing: the last of human freedoms –
to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way”.
(If you have not read Man’s Search for Meaning, I highly recommend you grab a copy and read it now)
The bottom line? Feeling better isn't just something you have to wait around for. Positive emotions aren’t only created by positive events and good things in our lives. With the right strategies and an understanding of why positivity is so critical, each day can be better.
Now I’m not suggesting you ignore what’s going on in the world and look for only sunshine and rainbows. I am suggesting that instead of holding tight and waiting for 2020 to end (will things really be different on January 1st anyway?), we choose to make the most of each and every day we are given.
How? By actively and intentionally bringing positive emotions into each day.
Now more than ever, we could all use a little more James Brown’s “I Feel Good” energy in our lives.
If you're looking for more ways to feel good, even when thing are bad, check out my latest article on Lifehack.org where I share simple ways to quickly evoke the ‘big 10’ positive emotions: love, joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, and awe.
Try one, try them all, but do something. Because every day, we have a choice - and a responsibility - to feel good, do good and be the best version of ourselves.
Great changes in history never occurred through negativity and resignation, but through hope and optimism that things could be different. And it’s times like these it becomes even more critical that we find that positivity, tap into our collective strength, resilience, and optimism and power through.
“If you want something done, ask a busy person.”
I’ve watched that saying prove true again and again over nearly 30 years of coaching and consulting. The capable people get tapped for everything.
Can you lead the presentation? Train the new hire? Fix the project? Join one more committee? Of course you can. You’re reliable, experienced and willing to step in.
But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
My latest Forbes article explores what I call the curse of competence: getting pulled into work because you’re good at it, not because it is the best use of your strengths, supports your growth or brings you joy.
If you feel like you’re the one carrying everything, I wrote this piece for you.
Inside, I share:
How to recognize when competence has quietly become obligation
The real cost to your energy, growth and joy
A simple YES filter to use before automatically agreeing
Graceful ways to say no, redirect an opportunity or make room on your plate
This isn’t about becoming less helpful or less generous. It’s about protecting your capacity for the work only you can do.
The goal isn’t to do less. It’s to stop giving your best work away so you can be brilliant at the work that fulfills you.