You know how we’ve been told for years to think positively? Well, the experts are now telling us we’ve been doing it all wrong. Yup, no amount of chanting ‘I am worthy’ in front of the mirror each morning will help boost our self-esteem.
And repeating ‘nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’ will not encourage me to relinquish my undying devotion to Häagen-Dazs.
Apparently, we need to fake it to make it, acting as if we already are what we aspire to be, so I should actively push away the ice cream as if I don’t like it.
I tried this last night, taking the enticing tub from the freezer, setting it on the table and then pushing it away, wagging a finger at it, saying ‘naughty ice cream, naughty’.
After I’d finished the whole tub (of course), I looked at the other tips and hints. If you’re feeling down, smile, you’ll feel instantly happier. If you make a fist, you feel more determined. If you strike a powerful pose, you’ll increase your self-esteem. Don’t do what I did though and try them all at the same time – you’ll look like a spaced-out bag-snatcher.
I don’t give up easily, so I gave it another go, concentrating first on the smiling exercise. Whenever I felt a little down, I smiled. And do you know what? I actually think it worked. It’s hard to think negatively when you’re beaming away. Although when I found a half-eaten, two week old sandwich in The Teenager’s bedroom, the smile was more like a grimace.
Moving on, how many of us slump and slouch? I know I do. So I pushed my shoulders back and stood tall, and yes, I felt better. Odd. Making a fist to feel more determined feels a little strange, but I see Andy Murray doing it all the time, so it must work.
There’s a lot to be said for faking positive emotions but I’m not sure if it will become a new habit for me just yet. It’ll have to join The List, along with drinking more water, picking up my kettlebell without keeling over and learning how to cook an artichoke. Meh. Smile!
I am not in favour of deluding ourselves with a false sense of reality. Better to learn to accept ourselves as we are rather than spend our lives trying to be something else. Being accepting of ourselves reduces anxiety. Continually grasping at something else will increase it.
And lets face it, with a heat wave forecast we need something to cool us down and iced water isn’t half as nice as ice cream!
Couldn’t agree with you more Julie!
Funnily enough, I was tempted to write that we should surely find out why we’re depressed rather than masking it? And who says we have to be happy all the time anyway?
I guess what annoys me to is that the so-called experts are constantly bombarding us with conflicting advice. We are not all the same, we all react in different ways. Hopefully I tried to show that I attempted their advice, and hey, it might work for some, just not for me, lol.
X
p.s. am dreading tomorrow – the high 20’s apparently, so yup, I will be indulging myself with ice cream!
I am getting some chores out of the way today to make it slightly less inconvenient to collapse on the sofa tomorrow.
It annoys me when these so-called experts keep telling us that it is wrong to feel depressed or anxious or whatever. That’s rubbish, it’s just part of being human and we all go through it from time to time. Yes sometimes we need some assistance in working through it but I think the worst thing to do is to pretend that feelings which are normal, and to be expected, are somehow wrong and should be carpeted over.
I feel some rambling on approaching, that’s my cue to zip it and let the world sort itself out. 🙂
I have a 3 hour mri on Tuesday in London, I hope it cools down by then. I saw a tv prog about customs at JFK. An officer stopped a woman as she set off his radiation detector, it turned out she had a thyroid mri 6 days previously! Good job I am not planning on flying anywhere.
Yup, what’s with this whole ‘you must be happy every minute of the day’ thing?? Anyway, I’ve got a naturally grumpy face, so feels a bit strange to smile all the time. When I was younger and we went to a Chinese restaurant on a regular basis, my Chinese nickname was ‘Long Face’, lol.
The so-called heatwave has not happened here yet. It’s downright chilly. I know that as the cat is in. On my sofa. She only goes out when it’s warm, bless her. Think the ice cream will have to wait til later.
Good luck with your mri!!! That’s a very long time, I don’t envy you. I’m completely claustrophobic and was over the moon to be diagnosed with MS, thinking that I would never have to have another mri ever again. How wrong I was. They want to do another one this summer to check on disease progression. Oh well. At least I’ll never have to go through another lumbar puncture!
X
ooh ice cream 😀
its takes too much energy to act in a way you are not, and i dont have energy to spare. i am generally a happy person, but i dont go around with a joker grin on my face, i might end up sectioned :p
Very true!
I see what they mean, in a small way, but I think it’s totally unrealistic to do it all the time. You’d end up all confused, wondering just how you’re feeling!
And like you said, you don’t need to smile to feel happy inside.
At least I can take this one off my list now! Does this mean I’ll have to pick up the kettlebell now??
X
yeah, you might have to dust off the kettlebell 😉
Darn it! *pushes kettlebell away*
X
just use it as a paper weight :p
Don’t laugh, but it’s currently a door-stop! And a pretty good one, lol
x
is there another use for one? ;p
I hope not! X
Am trying the Smile-Manically thing as I prepare for work. So far it’s not working. Hmm. Maybe if I augment with some Malteasers?!
It doesn’t work. Well, only for a second or two. Maybe a minute. Chocolate is FAR better, just not for my hips!
x