***Get Excited About Your Life!

Have you seen the motivational plaque that reads, “Life is a do-it-yourself project. Get excited about it!”

I love that expression because it reminds me that it’s up to me to make each day special. That doesn’t mean that each moment of every day is going to be wonderfully smooth, uneventful, and happy. But it does mean that it is up to me to take action each day to make sure I’m excited about being in a body and about being alive.

If you’re not as excited about your life as you want to be, take comfort in knowing that increasing the joy in your is something that you can actually take control of. Becoming inspired, energized, and fully engaged in your life is definitely possible! Gaining excitement isn’t so much about working to “fix” yourself as it is learning new skills of acceptance, emotional flow, and focusing your efforts on activities that have personal meaning.

There are numerous actions that support your ability to achieve a higher level of excitement about your own life. Below are several powerful places to begin:

1. Stop the DramanExcitement about your life emerges as you gain a deeper capacity to accept things as they are right now. Often times when things get rough, it is easy to fall into the worry trap, worrying about the issue, picking at the problem, and conjuring up the worst-case scenario. Intense focus on the problem accelerates negative emotions and stirs up even more chaos.

Acceptance of the situation allows you to stop flailing about and see the situation in a new light. Life is an ever-changing flow of moving, breathing, suffering, and hoping. It includes sorrows and dreams, and the mystery of things actually working out for the best. You’re not having a particular challenge because you are bad, wrong, or being punished. Instead, you can look at the situation and bring compassion to yourself. Discover if there is something to gain from the experience. Often, a difficult challenge also has within it a transformative power that can assist you in creating a more fully developed life.

2. Emotional FlownObviously, life is not about the absence of emotions. Therefore, allowing yourself to be excited about being alive involves an understanding that joy and sorrow are not a mutually exclusive proposition. Both are possible, and both can occur simultaneously. With this new definition of wholeness, your life jou
ey is no longer about attempting to abolish difficult emotions, but learning new strategies to recognize, accept, and allow emotional flow.

Emotions have energy, and big emotions have big energy. A key to emotional flow requires learning to accept emotions as they occur while also attaining the ability to stand back and let the emotional energy move on through. I will be the first to admit this is tricky business. It’s so easy to wan to resist uncomfortable emotions, suppress them, or get all tangled up in them. Mastering emotional flow means doing what we least want to do – accept emotions, stand behind a short wall, breathe, and let them flow.

3. BreathenConscious breathing is a vital ingredient in the recipe of an exciting life. Breath instantly lifts your spirits and clears your mind of negative thoughts and tension. Breath keeps energy moving. In addition, breath is the choice you make to be alive, to be you, and to be connected to your wisdom. Decide to breathe consciously throughout the day. Several times each hour take several deep, fulfilling breaths, that invigorates you body and rids your body of accumulated heaviness.

4. Practice OptimismnOptimism feels more excited about being alive! If you are not currently an optimistic person, don't worry – optimism can be learned. After all if the glass is half-empty, then it’s also already half-full. You can teach yourself to see the other side, despite the little setbacks, small adversities, disappointments, frustrations, and letdowns in your everyday experiences. Here are several optimistic thoughts to practice:nn-Things didn't go well today, but there's a lot to be learned from this experience. n-Somehow everything is going to work out for the best. n-There is a future, and you will get through this emotion, situation, or experience. n-Be a friend to yourself when you need it most. n-When life is especially difficult, remember that life happens even to 'good' people. n-Understand that you are part of something bigger.

5. Choose JoynA starting point to allow a deeper connection to excitement about your own life is to make a conscious decision that you are tired of “working” on your life and “working” on your problems. Decide you want to feel good right now. Then, get busy making simple choices that allow you to feel good about yourself today. For example:nn-Appreciate the love and beauty already in your life. n-Always keep your word to yourself.n-Value your own efforts.n-Instead of focusing on problems, envision solutions. n-Practice self-supportive thoughts. n-Lighten up and don't take yourself so seriously. n-Schedule time every day for relaxation. n-Lea
to breathe consciously and deeply.

6. Follow Your BlissnOver twenty years ago the great American mystic Joseph Campbell told us that the secret of life was to “Follow Your Bliss.” Turns out, he was right. Follow your instincts and choose actions that make you happy – both now and in the long-run. For example, if you’re feeling low and you choose sugary sweet comfort foods to lift your spirits, you may feel good now, but you won’t be feeling so good a little while from now. Following your bliss means looking inside and choosing an action or activity that allows you to feel more alive. Alive with no regrets or undesirable consequences. Choose to spend your time and energy on activities that create a fuller, richer life for yourself.

Excitement is something we choose. It’s something we set forth as a possibility, and then look for ways to making it happen. This is your life. Is today the day you purposefully get excited about exploring, discovering, and creating? n