July 17, 2008
Good Enough For You
In this issue...
My latest activities have gotten me going to bed at the early hours of the morning, utterly fascinated by the possibilities of watercolours...
Time flies when I'm drawing, and as soon as I say to myself "Right, it's time for bed", I find some other detail I could add or a shade I could refine. As a result, I made several colorful abstract pieces (see the picture - not bad for having just started with watercolours!).
More important, I have found one more activity that fills my heart and makes me feel really good; I think I will regard "drawing with watercolours" a very cool positive activity :-)
Browsing the net I came across a piece of news about an organization dedicated to protect the planet's coral reefs - CORAL. While the news was interesting, I was struck by the colorful web site and the interesting information that you can find in it, such as what it is that this organization does precisely and how they go about it.
Thus on this issue I'm not sending you to a piece of news, but rather to the CORAL web site - and wishing you to enjoy the pictures of lively corals. Simply follow the link for the Coral Reef Alliance web site.
Only recently did I stop to observe the large amount of stress we put ourselves under when we behave or do things in a certain way in order to be good enough for others. I am not talking about big important things, but about small actions that we do daily. I remember how at school I studied to achieve good marks in the tests so that I was good enough for my father. I have a friend who used to leave whatever he was busy with whenever anybody needed him, in order to be available and be good enough for others.
Why do we do that? Why do we modify our beings, if only slightly, to suit somebody else before suiting ourselves? Well, we all want to feel accepted and loved, and we have an underlying fear of being alone and in despair. To avoid that, we tend to behave in a certain way to conform to what others (parents, partner, friends...) want, or rather, what we think they want from us.
So how not to have all the stress that comes with trying to be good enough for others? The solution is simple: we can choose to behave in a way that is good enough for ourselves. Two interesting things happen when you choose to be good enough for you:
It only takes a small mental shift to see where in your own life you're living to satisfy somebody else's standards and where you're choosing to live in a way that is good enough for you. When you choose the latter more and more often, you find yourself enjoying life more, being more satisfied with yourself and the way go about your own life.
As an experiment, choose any day to observe where in your actions or your being you are geared towards being good enough for others, and how you could start choosing to be good enough for you. Your whole life awaits you!
Not too long ago I was sent a link to a page that made me smile: big mud puddles and sunny yellow dandelions. This brief page with animated cartoons and music makes you recover part of the child you really are.
Reading it brought a breeze of fresh air - how come we've arrived to taking life so seriously?! Pass by the big mud puddles and sunny yellow dandelions today and re-discover yourself.
I believe that being grateful for something is one of the most powerful tools to feel better immediately. Here are the two thanking bits of the month:
Thankful for... the good health. A few days ago I had to take a work colleague to A&E as he was very unwell. Having spent a few hours with him at the hospital, I got reminded once again of the importance of having good health as the first step to creating a full life.
Let's take the time to be thankful for our good health today, which allows us to experience fully what goes on in the rest of our lives.
Thankful for... the time off. As I write these lines, I am awaiting in anticipation a music festival to which I'm going in July: four days camping and dancing in the company of my partner and whoever else we meet at the event.
This is the first time I attend a large festival outdoors and I'm looking forward to spending a few days of vacation, dancing under the (hopefully) British sun...
What are you thankful for? Send me an email trough the Contact Me form and let me know!
Thank you for reading this issue of Dare To Play It Big, the free positive thinking newsletter of The Benefits Of Positive Thinking.
Care to send me your thoughts about this issue's topics? Email me and let me know!
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Stay well,
Cristina