Word of the Week: Excitement!
I’ll be honest, excited hasn’t been top of my feelings list for a while now. It’s understandable, there’s a lot going on in the world. But I have been pondering this and searching quite hard for a sign that I’m happy. It’s not that I’m unhappy, and despite having the normal everyday ups and downs in life like everyone else, I have a lot to be grateful for and positive about. This is something that was described quite perfectly as ‘languishing’ in a New York Times article not so long ago.
I seem to have been searching for a sign that I’m feeling great and then over-analysing why I’m not feeling as happy as perhaps think I should be.
I then had a call with a coaching client this week who was dealing with feelings of anxiety when presenting at work. This had come completely out of the blue as they are a seasoned pro at presenting in all sorts of high and low stakes scenarios.
After trying a number of different tactics (meditating, cutting out caffeine, breathing techniques, positive affirmations), the signs were still showing which prompted the coaching conversation.
By the end of the call, they told me they had moved from feeling unsettled to feeling excited about overcoming this new challenge. Had I given them advice, solved the problem or found the underlying root cause? No. But the conversation in that moment allowed them to unpick what was going on and then look at it from a different perspective, imagining and exploring what they did want to happen, and uncovering some optimism and EXCITEMENT about the fact that things could change.
The mention of excitement almost surprised me but also led to reflecting on my own feelings. I had been going through my own version of unpicking why I was feeling a lack of excitement and in doing so, thought about all the things that were worth getting EXCITED about.
We have to hold on to the moments of joy and accept it when they gone, knowing they’ll come back again soon.
Sometimes, we can stop ourselves feeling all the good stuff and let our minds take over, defaulting to struggles, worries, and negatives. Now. I’m not suggesting that one coaching conversation can solve everything, or tackle more serious mental health struggles, but it is quite astounding what can happen when we explore what’s possible with someone.
Plus there’s a huge amount of evidence that shows how a regular practice of gratitude can positively impact our wellbeing.
So, each time that little glimpse of happiness, positivity, light creeps in, spot it catch it and try to amplify it. We have to hold on to the moments of joy and accept it when they’re gone, knowing they’ll come back again soon.