Creating and fostering positive energies and habits for myself

I came across a health tip today that I couldn't stop thinking about once I began to apply it to different areas of my life. Specifically, the tip that I read about had to do with having a health cleanse and eating vegetables as much as you can. More specifically, Bethenny Frankel, who is a natural food chef among other things, said:


"Eat vegetables every chance you get, whenever you get the urge. The more you eat them, the more you will learn to appreciate them and even crave them"


Sounds easy enough, right? But while I was driving to family reunion/gathering tonight, I found myself looking at all of the different restaurants in the city and thinking more and more about this health tip as being just the tip of an iceberg. There is so much to be learned from that tip than to eat more veggies. What I began to think about was that human nature, although raw and instinctual, can be something that is manipulated, shaped, and organized designed for optimal health and well-being.  That is, we can train ourselves to like things that we normally wouldn't.  We can intentionally develop habits that did not exist before.

Take for example, exercise. Health and fitness experts typically work out daily not because they feel pressured to do so, but because they describe being "addicted to it" once they have get into the routine of doing it for awhile.  So, apparently, and I can attest to this too, exercise is something you can train your body to like so that it becomes a part of your day-to-day lifestyle, and perhaps even habit (if you have the self-discipline to build it into a habit over time).  And now, thinking about the tip from Bethenny Frankel, I guess the same goes for consuming more vegetables! It seems that by building up a habit to eat more vegetables, we can manipulate our bodies to even crave it  and to perhaps like something that we didn't like or prefer before.

Now... moving onto relationships, which is what I generally think about when it comes to self-improvement... Couldn't we say that we can train ourselves to develop habits that are more healthy for us when it comes to finding positive relationships, maintaining healthy relationships, and letting go of bad and unhealthy relationships?

I recently watched the movie "The Secret" which is a self-help documentary about optimist thinking within the principle of the laws of attraction.  In other words, whatever energy you put into the world you get back.  If you are constantly thinking negative thoughts, the universe will give it back to you -- not because you are asking for it, but because you are simply surrounded in that kind of energy and it will therefore be reflected back to you.  Similarly, if you are a perpetual optimist and give off such an energy, the universe will also give that kind of energy back to you. I'm not fully sure if I am a true believer of "The Secret" -- but I won't reject it either because I definitely want to be surrounded by positive energy!

Anyway, I begin to think about "The Secret" and about the habits that we develop (both good and bad). I began to integrate these two ideas to think about how empowering it is that we, as humans can have some power over what it is we crave, habitually act on, and send out to the universe. I can create and foster positive things to crave, positive habits that will make me happier and healthier, and I can send it out to the universe, to myself but also others so that we can continue to surround ourselves with what is best for us.

At this point in my life (and certainly over the past few years), I have had my share of unhealthy relationships and therefore I have been constantly thinking about relationships, love, and abandonment. I am immersed in it both when I am IN the relationship as well as when I think about it afterwards. Meanwhile, all of the other areas of my life have been neglected because of the energy I've invested being in/obsessing about/dealing with people who are unhealthy for me and who have not been good partners to me.  Without knowing that I have had power over my thinking, my habits, my energy, I have CHOSEN to focus on other people and I have let go of thinking about what is best for me.  Once passionate about my career, I have since been on autopilot, doing as less work as I can to get through the day. I have CHOSEN to de-prioritize the people who are there for me unconditionally and focused instead on the few that have not loved me in the way that I wanted or deserved.  Unintentionally so, I have also CHOSEN to be less grateful each day when I open my eyes and think about loss and heartache rather than appreciate all that I have in my life, and to count my blessings instead.  These are the choices I make, the habits I create, the energy I surround myself with -- and they are decisions that I have made irrespective of the partner I am with.  Of course, I can't take all of this responsibility and I do attribute it to the partners that I have been with because they are certainly problematic in the equation as well.  But what I do know now (I learned it the hard way) is that I can't change other people and I can't change their habits or their energy either.

All I can do is focus on mine.

So I write this entry with an intention to pledge to be more aware of what I choose for myself.  What energy do I want to put out into the universe today?  What habit would I like to develop that is good for me? How can I foster more positive energy and habits so that over time, I can grow to crave them like I can crave vegetables later by eating more now?

For starters, I want to think less about the needs of other people and to focus more on myself.  I have pushed my own career on the wayside and I want to find that same passion again that I used to -- before boyfriends came into the picture, and before I focused more on their careers and their long-term plans instead of mine.

I also want to create more space in my life to implement quality family time.  Watching TV with family just doesn't/shouldn't cut it any longer.  I want to have more in-depth, meaningful talks with them to hear about their thoughts, feelings, dreams, desires.  I want our time together to be significant and I want to transfer that same amount of energy that I used to give to ONE person, to others as well.

I want to feel healthy, inside and out, so I want to be able to move my body in the same way that I am trying to flex my emotions these days and express them to myself and to others. Whether it is a 30 minute walk/run or some other form of activity, I want to be able to do something positive for my body -- a place that I have resided in since birth, and that I will continue to live in for the rest of my life!  Meanwhile, I will also continue to journal so that I become more familiar and more comfortable with having raw feelings and acknowledging that they exist and have legitimacy.  I want to be grow to feel more comfortable with being vulnerable and letting others know that I have needs too.

That's all I can think of for now, but I have a feeling my list will continue to grow.  I feel empowered about this and I feel a bit brilliant for integrating 2 schools of thought based on one simple health tip to eat more vegetables. This little tidbit of knowledge really expanded my thinking today and now I have a wonderful recipe for finding self-empowerment in all areas of my life.  How liberating it is know that WE CAN CHANGE OUR OWN HABIT AND ENERGY TO CRAVE MORE OF WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE WANT FOR OURSELVES IN THE FUTURE!

Ah, I'm proud of myself for that. Here's a pat on the back! :)