Tips to enthusiasm – yourhappyplaceblog

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I truly have always loved the word ENTHUSIASM. When you understand the greek term, you appreciate the word even more…en theos or “God within.” What power that word possesses. If we could all live from such a place of enthusiasm, what a world we would live in.

Yesterday, I was driving through a breakfast burrito spot and ordered a simple, breakfast burrito. I made the exchange at the drive-up window & was then greeted by such an enthusiastic encounter. The guy at the window handed me my order & enthusiastically said, “I have only made 4 of those burritos in 2 years!! Keep the orders coming! I love shaking things up and making something different!” He beamed with enthusiasm. I drove away giggling with my daughter at how sweet that interaction was, to see a man working at a fast-food restaurant so happy to make something a little different. Variety was definitely his spice of life. It lit him up!

Are we not all like that? Don’t we need to shake things up, to add some variety into our lives. Last weekend my family rented some paddle boards, which one of them was a huge 18 ft board that could fit multiple people. My daughter does not love trying new things, especially in front of other people, like my family. I wanted my daughter to TRY & I know she has the personality that you have to keep pushing and pushing until she finally does. We were having a serious conversation & she was digging in her heals pretty serious. She was not having any of the conversation & was not about to get on a paddle board. After a serious, stern moment, she finally gave in after I promised her it would just be our little family on the large board. I only get stern if I know she will enjoy it & the situation was getting too serious. The conversation paid off. My daughter hesitantly got on the board, tried something new and loved it. The whole day would have been a different day if she would not have got on the board and spread her little wings and tried. She was filled with enthusiasm. She paddled cousins all around the lake, she started water fights with uncles, she found a little part of herself that needed to fly and be free from the constraints of the usual, the comfortable.

When we leave the comfort zone, we tap into a deeper part of ourselves that needs to grow. When we try new things, we light up. That ‘God within’ part or enthusiasm shines through and joy springs from us. It is a good place to be.

What can you do today to shake things up, to tap into that part of you that needs to feel enthusiasm?

“An enthusiastic heart finds opportunities everywhere.” -Paulo Coelho

Take some time to do something you truly enjoy–maybe you feel you don’t have enough time in a day. Think about all the great minds throughout history, what they accomplished, and how they had the exact number of hours and days you have. How will you make today different? Begin with 15 minutes. That is all. Do something you enjoy for 15 minutes.

Avoid being the victim–my husband’s sister has been a functioning addict for over 30 years until recently. She fell into a pit and stayed there. We just removed her from her old world & threw her into an uncomfortable situation. She hit rock bottom–she could have been the victim, but instead she got moving. She began walking 5 miles a day and seeing herself through other lenses than the victim ones he had been wearing. She is moving in a forward direction for her life. It all begins with a choice. What do you want to focus on? What statements are you saying to yourself?

What lights you up? What is something you could spend hours doing? Maybe you enjoy walking museums for creative inspiration. Maybe you could go on a hike every day. Maybe you love to read or write. Maybe playing or listening to music. Maybe learning something new…ask yourself, ‘what lights me up?’

Take care of yourself–make sure you are doing what you can to have good energy, eating good foods, getting enough sleep, exercising, drinking water, etc. If you are not taking care of your body, how can the spirit part of you be influenced & feel good?

Evaluate the energy drains of your life–are there things you do that bring you down, that make you feel low. Are there people or friends that you don’t enjoy being around, you feel zapped from spending time with them. Are there things about your job that lower your energy. Look at different aspects of your life and evaluate what lights you up, what makes you feel lower energy and try to slowly limit those things that don’t light you up. You will begin to see the high and low energy effects of everything in your life.

Look at your body language and verbal language–what are you saying? Do you carry a positive body posture or do you walk hunched over. Are you saying positive things to others & yourself or do you find yourself being more negative than positive. Do you sit tall or slouch. Walk and talk as if you are feeling full of enthusiasm & what you will be telling your mind and body is that you are truly feeling it!

Avoid the bad life stressors–my husband has recently been trying to take on a new role at work. The stress has been unbearable to watch. He comes home, his eyes are sunken in and he is exhausted, there is no possible energy of enthusiasm that can thrive on that! When you over stress, you over work, you become overwhelmed and your body is depleted. Nothing can grow or light up from the hard depths and dark energy of bad stress. This is when sleep, slowing down, and recharging is essential to begin again.

Learn something new–realistically, when you learn something new, you get lit up. Think of a time recently that you learned something new–what happened? Did you have a renewed energy? Did you want to learn more? When we challenge, we grow. When we grow, we light up.

Surround yourself with positives–listen to positive podcasts, put on music that makes you feel good, watch movies that stir your soul (feel good–not make you feel heavy), be around people who are happy & feel good, read and send positive quotes, read good books that will make you stretch and grow, do things that make you feel positive and fill your heart with enthusiasm.