Emotions Archives - Page 5 of 5

Are You In The Pursuit Of Happiness?

by Allanah Hunt | Mar 28, 2015 | Emotions, It's All About You | 0 comments

Where can you find happiness?

People talk about happiness as if it is tangible and when you look in the right place you will find it. For some, happiness is achieved through their career, their wealth or their home, whilst others find happiness in their children or a romantic relationship.

The Pursuit of Happiness is at the root of our current society as we look for instant gratification through ‘retail therapy’ (shopping), food, sex, alcohol, drugs and prestige. The need to feel accepted, to be good enough – these are some of the emotions we use to define happiness.

As we have more, we feel we are more.

And this feeling of being ‘better’ keeps us in a cycle of competition, constantly striving for more.

This is the feeling we believe is happiness. The problem with this model is that you are relying on things outside of yourself to make you happy. And your level of happiness seesaws between ecstasy and despair depending on how well you believe you are doing in comparison to how you see other peoples’ success or failure.

The other way we try to create happiness is by reducing our pain level.

In other words, if our emotional pain is less, then we must be happier, right? So finding ways to numb our pain produces a feeling of well-being or happiness, at least in the immediate moment. The problem with this tactic is that over time we become desensitised to the method of pain numbing; shopping, alcohol, drugs, sex etc; so that we need to do more of these things to get the same result. This puts us on the same seesaw as the paragraph above. Again, we are relying on something outside of ourselves to make us happy and are therefore powerless to maintain our sense of joy when things change.

The only place to find true sustainable happiness is to look within. If you look ‘without’ you will go without!

The contentment, stability and comfort you find in knowing you are your best friend, that you never need to feel alone and that you already have everything you need is liberating. It’s like magic! Your fear, insecurity and pain melt away like frost on a sunny morning. And just like the sunshine after the rain, your heart feels lighter, there is a Mona Lisa smile hovering around the corners of your mouth, your head lifts as you look out through eyes which are bright with anticipation.

When you look at your life through the eyes of gratitude, happiness is the automatic result. Events will occur around you, there will be loss and things will change. But with a clear sense of who you are, your happiness can remain intact.

Happiness is not always the feeling of euphoria we are led to believe. Sometimes it’s just the choice to be grateful, to focus on the good and to let go of any feelings of anger, rejection or frustration as you know they do not add to your life.

This is a position of extreme power. Here you understand you have the freedom to choose your responses and therefore your happiness.

Have a think about this and see how you can add more happiness to your life!

What To Do When Life Knocks You To Your Knees

by Allanah Hunt | Mar 26, 2015 | Emotions

Life is constantly evolving, swirling around and sometimes sideswiping us. We can feel dented and bruised but we carry on regardless.

But once in a while life knocks us off our feet. We find ourselves on the floor desperately looking around for something to hold on to. If we are fortunate, we have friends or family who can hold our hand whilst we are down. Their love and support can stop us falling into the abyss which threatens to swallow us whole.

Sometimes we choose to stay down for a while, unable to muster the strength to pull ourselves up. I have in my mind the picture of someone lying in the middle of the floor, there is furniture all around but it is out of reach. No matter how far they stretch out their hand, the means to pull themselves up is too far away. They can see it, but cannot find the strength to move towards it.

So what do you do when life knocks you?

Well, you can stay down or … you can treat it as a knock on the door.

“You decide whether you want to open the door or stay on the floor”

The floor is a small place where everything looks huge and insurmountable. To open the door you need to stand up no matter how difficult it may seem. Your friends and family can help you stand and hold your hand for a while but just like a baby taking it’s first steps at some point you need to walk alone. The first step is the hardest but once you take it you will find momentum builds and you can walk more freely.

You may not run in the same way as before and perhaps for a while you may walk with a limp. But if you stand you will discover a strength you never knew you had. A strength that will become the foundation of your life as you walk forward with faith in yourself and the power to create your life in any direction you choose.

Because in fact there is more than one door in front of you and each one has a new experience behind it. Imagine if you had X-ray vision and could see what was behind each door before you opened it – what would you like to see?

Hold gently to this vision and open a door – whichever one feels right to you. Then walk through and know that even though you cannot see the entire journey, each step will take you closer to your vision because it’s your feet which are walking the path.

Your feet, your power, your choice.

FEAR – False Evidence Appearing Real

by Allanah Hunt | Mar 26, 2015 | Emotions, Energy

It can be scary to make a change when you can’t see how your life will look if you choose a new path. If I change my job, what will the work entail? What will my colleagues be like? Will my new boss be supportive? If I move to a new neighbourhood, will I make new friends? Will my children settle into their new school? And if my relationship breaks up, where will I live? How will I raise my children on my own? I can’t imagine my life without my partner …

All of these thoughts are valid but they have one thing in common.

Fear. Fear of the unknown; fear of loss; fear of making a mistake. Call it anxiety if you wish but it’s essentially the same thing.

The ‘funny’ thing about fear is that it isn’t real!

How can it not be real you might ask?

It feels scary, I’m anxious and my heart is beating faster. So it’s real to me!

Let’s look at the word fear for a moment.

F.E.A.R.

F – Fear

E – Evidence

A – Appearing

R -Real

False Evidence Appearing Real

Our brain is hard wired to let us know when we are doing something different. When we are stepping out of our comfort zone, our brain releases hormones into our body to tell us to be on alert. Danger!

But the truth is we are not usually in any real danger. Our thoughts about change activates a chemical/hormone release to let us know something is different. And because we don’t have solid information, we fill in the blanks from our imagination. It is the story we tell ourselves about what might happen which causes us anxiety.

The first word in our definition of fear.

False = untrue

The second word is Evidence.

Imagination is a wonderful thing. We dream, we imagine, we create and to us it feels very real. Your brain needs to categorise information and because when something changes, information about the future is missing, it predicts the future based on the past.

But there is a big difference between tangible evidence and imagined evidence. Take a moment to check what is true and let your brain catch up.

The third part is Appearing Real

The anxiety we feel about the change we are making leads us to believe that what we are thinking is real.

Your brain doesn’t know the difference between reality and imagination so it will react based on what you think is real. What appears real. Reality is subjective and dictated by your perception. Your perception is based on your thoughts about something and therefore although you feel afraid, anxious or nervous, it is simply a physical reaction to your thoughts. And you have the power to choose your thoughts!

So fear is simply a reaction to a story we tell ourselves about what might happen.

What if you were to tell yourself a different story? One which empowers you to embrace the changes which are a constant part of life? What would your response be then?

Fear will keep you stuck. A bit like the hedgehog which curls up into a ball when it sees a bright light. Or the spider in your room which stops still in the hope you won’t see it!

You are powerless to decide the outcome when you are stuck. Events will unfurl around you sweeping you along whether you like it or not.

Your power lies in the story you tell yourself when faced with a change.

The response you choose will determine your reality.

Reclaim your power today and live with the freedom which comes with choice!

How Do You Respond To Change?

by Allanah Hunt | Mar 26, 2015 | Emotions, Law of Attraction, Manifestation, Relationships

We are taught to hold on tightly to our important possessions, to guard and protect them from others who may wish to take them from us. We even insure them against possible loss as if by doing so we can keep their value with us always. And we do the same thing with the people who are important to us.

As if by holding them close we can stop them from slipping away.

But in a world which is constantly evolving, where seasons come and go and where birth and death are a natural part of life, the one thing we can rely on is that things will change. It is our response to that change which determines our happiness.

Depending on your family or model of the world, the absence of something, or someone, is seen as a loss to be mourned. But what if we looked at their presence as a gift to be thankful for?

What if instead of being sad when someone leaves our life, we decide to be grateful for the new possibilities which are coming our way?

Have you ever held a butterfly in your hand? Such a delicate creature that we cradle it ever so gently. If we were to hold tightly we would destroy the life of this beauty who has chosen to sit with us for one moment. So after a second of wonder and with a smile on our face, we open our hand to let it fly away. We don’t where it goes or for how long it will live but we are thankful for the one moment of perfection.

Life is as fragile as the wings of that beautiful butterfly and things will change. Holding tight to how things were will keep you stuck. The times I have been stuck are the most painful times in my life. However, I have learned that the minute you take a deep breath, raise your eyes from the ground and look ahead with a steady gaze; the moment you decide to look for the possibilities rather than focus on the loss, is the moment your reality starts to alter.

You have a choice to make.

Hold tight to the way things were and you will feel pain or embrace the possibilities which come with change and you will feel joy.

Your power lies in your decision – this is where your freedom lives.

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