Friday Musings—30/06/23

This week's post delved into the importance of developing more self-awareness in order to make better choices and live more fully. "Know thyself" has long been a fundamental commandment in philosophy, yet we rarely apply it to our own lives. What a shame! After reading the post, a couple of you reached out to share that they do feel like they have lost sight of who they are, and that they intend to start working on that. That makes me so happy! What about you, who are you when no one is watching?

Now onto my weekly musings 😎

The Maui Habit.

I've been following Dr BJ Fogg and his work around the concept of Tiny Habits for quite some time now. In essence, his approach revolves around focusing on small actions that take less than thirty seconds to complete and anchoring each new habit to an existing one. If you're interested in learning more, you can join his free 5-day program where you get the chance to work with one of his coaches.

A tiny habit he and his sister Linda (who works alongside him) shared recently is the "Maui Habit". It's a practice aimed at helping you feel more positive and empowered about the day ahead of you. The concept is simple: as soon as your feet touch the floor upon waking up, say out loud, "It's going to be a great day!". Sounds overly simplistic, doesn't it? And yet Linda, who started adopting this habit during a really challenging time in her life, said it's had a transformative impact on her. Today marked my first attempt at this (I even raised my fist triumphantly as I declared my day was going to be great, but I do have a penchant for the dramatic!). I'll report back once I've been doing this consistently for a few weeks. If you decide to give it a shot as well, let me know how it unfolds for you!

Choosing our outlook on life.

These past few days have been especially challenging for me health-wise. Yesterday, I was feeling exhausted and like I could no longer put up with chronic pain. At a certain point, I noticed my mind spiraling into "blaming and complaining mode"—why did I have to deal with my illness all on my own and at such a young age? Why didn't anyone help me out earlier on? Why must I now face all these additional health challenges as my mental health finally begins to stabilize? The fact is, assigning blame and complaining isn't going to help me. So I made a conscious decision to put a stop to those thoughts and engage in a restorative yoga practice instead.

One of the things I appreciate about yoga is its versatility. Whatever your emotional state, there's a practice that can help you address that. Seeking an energy boost? Go for a fiery flow. Craving serenity? Opt for a gentler, slow-paced routine. And so many other options in between. I chose this sequence, and it proved to be exactly what I needed. At a certain point, it felt like the teacher was speaking directly to me and addressing the mental space I was in when she reminded viewers that "you cannot always control what is happening to you, but you can control how you react to it". It was a timely reminder that, regardless of external circumstances, we always have the power to decide which attitude to adopt and how to respond to those circumstances. Viktor Frankl, psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor and author of Man's Search for Meaning (a profoundly inspiring read) referred to this ability to choose our outlook on life even in the face of adversity as "the last of the human freedoms".

Poet's corner

"So few grains of happiness/ measured against all the dark/ and still the scales balance." I find this poem by Jane Hirshfield eloquently captures the intricate and maddening interplay of life's hardships and its beauty. The world can be a dark place, but if we learn to focus on our "few grains of happiness", to value the goodness in our life and to accept what lies beyond our control (as discussed earlier), we discover that the journey is ultimately worthwhile. We also discover that we have more strength than we thought we were capable of.

Quote of the week ✍️

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way". (Viktor Frankl)

That's all from me today, enjoy your weekend and TTYS

ML