How My Feel-Good Story Benefits You

It’s my job as a life coach … and a human being … to manage what’s going on inside me … to manage how I’m feeling. A large part of that involves sitting with and ultimately transforming any negative feelings and inner dialogue I’ve conjured up into something more positive … the very best I can.

Some people do this really well. They’re generally optimistic and naturally don’t have to work that hard to see the brighter side of life. Others don’t do this work at all … or do very little of it … and you can tell by what it’s like to be around them!

I do this fairly well, because I’m consistent. But I didn’t come out of the womb a generally happy, optimistic person. I’ve chosen to work at it. We’ve talked about many of the tools I use in these newsletters over the years … writing a gratitude list, refreshing my mind and body with a midday meditation, doing EFT (tapping) when something’s really bothering me, etc.

Today, I want to share a story … and a tool that’s very easy to use and brings such a positive punch to your life!

First, the story.

I asked Tom for tickets to an Atlanta Braves baseball game and an overnight experience in Atlanta for my birthday. Now, for most of my life, I was never into sports, but I’ve become a diehard Braves fan over the years.

Because of Tom’s love of baseball, we watch a lot of games on TV and you get to care about the players and the team. It’s like you know them personally. And I wanted to see the guys and experience the stadium in person.

So, we drive to Atlanta, have a wonderful Italian dinner at the “Battery,” an area of restaurants and stores adjoining the stadium. After eating, we get in a line that’s been forming outside the restaurant, where we discover it’s a bobblehead giveaway night. They’re giving away a souvenir replica of the best Braves player, probably the Most Valuable Player in the National League this year, Ronald Acuna Jr.

So, Tom and I get our bobbleheads. We have a wonderful night. Braves win! And we go back to the hotel where I meet my new friend at the front desk, Jackie, who helped us earlier in the day.

Jackie is a crazy, over-the-top Braves fan! She wants to know all about the game … and if it was a bobblehead night?! She’s beside herself when I tell her I have not one, but two, Ronald Acuna bobbleheads.

Honestly, they don’t mean a whole lot to me. In fact, I’m wondering what I’m going to do with these silly things as I go about downsizing our home.

So, I decide to gift my new friend with a bobblehead.

Well, you’d think I’d given her a million bucks as she does a little dance, bounces up and down with pure joy, and hugs me!

I go off to bed so incredibly happy that I’ve done something nice for someone!

I turned this “thing” that didn’t mean a lot to me into an experience that’s made me just as happy as my new friend! So fun. So satisfying.

Next, the tool I promised.

Every day since… several times a day … when I’m doing my gratitudes in my head, I think of Jackie … her pure joy and how the whole experience made me feel. And I savor that feeling all I can. I milk it for all the good feelings it’s worth!

So, what’s the take-away?

Enhancing our experience of life is about two things … 1) transforming our negative experiences, where we at least neutralize them and maybe even find a silver lining and 2) squeezing as much joy out of the good stuff of life as we possibly can.

Transform and squeeze. That’s the magic formula.

Consistently make the not-so-good stuff better and the good stuff great and see how much happier you feel that much more of the time.

I promise, you’ll love what it does for you.

Love,