WAKE UP AND START LIVING.
Next time you feel sad, frustrated, overwhelmed etc. don’t just tell yourself “I am sad”.
Instead, add “for now” and notice how it instantly makes you feel better:
“I am sad…for now.”
Remember: Everything is temporary, especially negative emotions. Often all we need to see the light at the end of the tunnel is this little reminder that brings us back to reality.
Sympathy is agreeing with another person’s opinion and sharing their feelings and concerns.
Empathy is thinking about what it would be like to have the same life (including the same mentality, body and environment) as the other person.
Empathy, therefore, is a skill or an attitude based on your imagination, whereas sympathy is not more than a feeling.
Source: “The Courage to be Happy”
“That bad person.”
Do you complain and blame the situation on someone/something else?
“Poor me.”
Are you feeling sorry for yourself and how unfairly life is treating you?
“What should I do from now on?”
Are you being realistic by looking for an answer to move forward, leaving the negative situation behind you?
Whenever you find yourself in a conflict situation or negative mood, become aware of your thoughts and ask yourself: Which side of the triangle am I currently expressing/living?
Even if side 1 and 2 might give you temporary comfort, they will not give you a solution.
Always opt for side 3: “What should I do from now on?”
Inspired from the book “The Courage to be Happy” based on Adlerian Psychology
Selfishness comes from our oldest and deepest instinct of survival & self-preservation.
Therefore, practicing pure selflessness would be equivalent to not being aware of yourself/your being and, as a result, almost the same as not being at all.
So: Stop feeling bad about being selfish (to a degree). We’re alive. We’re human. We’re selfish.
Inspired from: Anthony de Mello – Awareness
