Are You Holding Your Happiness Hostage? (#134)

Awareness
Awareness
Are You Holding Your Happiness Hostage? (#134)
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It was a painful moment when I realized that I was living with my life on hold. Did I mean for it to happen? Of course not. Was I aware of it? No. Until I had an experience that brought it to the light of day. I was booked to be a guest on a podcast and it’s what I would call a stretch interview: not completely in my wheelhouse yet but a direction I am moving in.

𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, I love stretch activities and I know that they are good for me.  So, I always thought that they didn’t affect me. I was mistaken. The day of the interview arrived, and I felt sluggish, which is odd for me.  That made me pay attention to how I was feeling through the course of the day. As the interview got closer, I was hoping that the host would need to re-schedule. She didn’t. I showed up for the interview, had fun and it went great.  The interviewer was super happy and said that her listeners will get a ton of value. Whew! Relief.  For about 20 minutes until I started focusing on the next “stretch” event on my calendar. 

Just like that, I was back on the treadmill of stress. That’s when I realized that this is my version of the trap: “I’ll be happy when . . .”  Except, in my case, it’s a slight variation: “I can relax when . . .” which leads to the ultimate trap of: “I will have time to enjoy my life when . . .”I was living with my life on hold. I’m grateful that I had this experience so that it brought this trap into very clear focus for me.  Now, I can do something about it.I wanted to share it because I suspect that I’m not alone and maybe others can benefit from my discovery.

Show Notes

Sticky Trap – This misconception concerning happiness is sticky. As we grow, we will continue to challenge our comfort zone. Therefore, striving to find a place where we always feel at ease is absurd and elusive.

This Moment - This trap prevents us from being happy now. It leads us to believe that as soon as we finish the next event, interview, presentation, etc., we will be able to unwind or have time to do something we enjoy.

Work on it - Everything is in your hands. Recognize that you are living with a chunk of your life on hold, and take steps to change this. Hence, regardless of what transpires, make sure to rise and thrive.

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