"The Power of Intention"
By:  Brian Johnson and Wayne Dyer

Act "As If"

"Who do you want to be?  How do you want to live?  What's your ideal?  Do you want to be in terrific physical shape?  Happy?  Enlighted?  'Act as if everything you desire is already here,' advises Dyer.  'Treat yourself as if you already are what you'd like to become.'  In other words, whatever your ideal picture is, picture that image.  Then, on a moment-to-moment basis, act 'as if' you are already that person.  What would the happy, enlightened being you imagine (and are) do in this moment of tension?  Perhaps breathe in, breathe out, gain perspective and maintain equanimity?  How about that perfectly healthy person you imagine?  What would he or she eat?  How often would he or she exercise?  Perfect.  That's what you do now.  Act 'as if', and sooner than you think, you won't be acting anymore." 

Be Your Best Self

" 'True nobility,' Dyer writes, 'isn't about being better than someone else.  It's about being better than you used to be.'  This reminds me of Faulkner's wisdom:  'Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors.  Try to be better than yourself.'  Don't compete.  Come from your soual and create.  Be you.  Be the best you imaginable." 


i'm just in love with magazine articles right now.  i commonly get the question "where do you get all of these quotes?"  posted on my facebook statuses and from common company. 

i've decided that if i am going to turn around, slowly accepting my misery and relearning the art of being me, i better do some research to figure out exactly who i want to be and the route that i choose to get there.  ironically, i know that i am never going to get there, and when i do, i know it will be the day that i am going to meet my maker.  however, learning along the way can't hurt, can it? 

i've been feeling semi content this last couple of days.  by my own admission of misery, i have started to embrace the small things that i have in my life.  instead of looking at it as one miserable big picture, i have focused on the exact things that make me that way, what i can do to change them, and if they are beyond my control, focusing on letting them go.

in response to the "act as if" article, i found it intriguing that a self help writer would tell you that you should act some particular way, as if acting is going to make you happy.  "fake it 'til you make it", so to speak.  i can't tell you how many times i have put on my fake smile and talked to someone who is actually interested in my life--saying "oh yeah, i'm great, life is great.  i'm exactly where i want to be."  lies, lies, lies.  when did it become okay for us to start ball face lying to those we care about?  hmmm...

then again, i find the sections about "acting as if" about health and exercise helpful.  i've found that i have gluten intolerance and have been struggling with eating lately.  how am i supposed to eat all of those "college kid" foods (macoroni, ramen noodles, and hungover morning trips to mcdonalds) while excluding gluten?  at first, i was on it.  absolutley on top of it.  i watched what i ate and felt so much better not having to spend 2 hours a day in the bathroom.  (too much information?  probably).  but, then vespers and finals came around, along with a string of holiday celebrations and i fell off the band wagon, which sent me right back to the bathroom. 

if i can act as if i have gluten intolerance, how would i eat?  at this stage, it's difficult to afford a lot of those gluten free foods that people suggest to me.  so, i eat a hell of a lot of campbells soup.  i haven't gotten sick of it yet, and with winter in full force, a big bowl of hot soup is delicious.  until i can afford some of the more expensive end items, campbells it is.  (and still, it is "mmm, mmm, good!)

as for acting happy...i can do it in certain situations.  but let me tell you, it is exhausting telling people how happy i am when all i really want to do is pull my hair out and tell them how sucky life seems to be right now.  how hard it is to juggle the present and future, while still thinking about the next work or homework assignment i have, or when i have to go sit through a 4 hour lecture about weather on friday night.  (this is by my own faults...i didn't pass the first time).  but still...is putting on a face and acting as if i am perfectly content the way to be?  i'll let you know. 

i have a problem with comparing myself to others and how happy, established, content in their lives they are.  jealousy sets in on a college graduate who is in a cute apartment and seems to have everything in order.  however, everyone is fighting their own battles...and everybody has obstacles.  therefore, the section "be your best self" was helpful to get my mind out of that, "oh so and so is this way, so that's the way i should be, too." 

it's okay for me to be where i am at this particular juncture.  i would be worried if i was perfectly happy with being a college student and never wanted to graduate--eesh.  i couldn't continue this lifestyle for very much longer.  the late nights, early mornings, and never ending pages in an appointment book would surely drive me insane. 

the only person i need to be competing with is me.  nobody else.  where i am, what i choose to do, how i choose to live my life.  that's me.  nobody else.  and with my tool belt heavily weighted down with mistakes, bad decisions, and all of those little things that i should have said or done...i can figure it out. 

the article ends like this:

"Good morning, this is God.  I will be handling all of your problems today.  I will not need your help, so have a miraculous day."

how appropriate.

fight the good fight,
+kaia