2015…Doesn’t it seem like yesterday we celebrated the Millennium?
Pause for a second. Think back on how much your life has morphed since then.
How mindfully aware and active were you in creating life-enhancing changes to make your dreams a reality?
My photos this year remind me dreams really do come true. Yes, you do need to put into action your game plan goals and make the effort. I will get to my well-being, memory-making moments in just a bit.
But first, think of the positive psychology acronym for thriving, PERMA.
Need a positive psychology coaching PERMA review?
Here you go:
- Positive Emotion
- Engagement/Flow
- Relationships
- Meaning
- Accomplishment
Have flourishing fun flow as you focus on your path to creating positivity. Remember to add ZEST to your positivity quest. Your life will glow with new purpose and passion.
May I challenge you (I do that often in my coaching sessions) to take a fun gander at each of your five categories. Did you know that challenges and risks are the cornerstones of happiness? Which ones added the most frosting to your flourishing? Discover how they have shown up for you in the last 15 years. Use all your five senses as you take:
“The 15-Year Since the Millennium Flourishing Quiz”
1. What activities fueled my passion and purpose and engendered joy? Did I create opportunities for myself? If so, what skills did I rally?
2. How have I maximized these well-being winners in my life to feel Fredrickson’s 10 POSITIVE EMOTIONS? (See book, LOVE2.0 and my previous blogs listing them.)
3. What new well-being HABITS did I create and master?
4. How have I stretched my STRENGTHS to serve my VALUES? (You have 24 Values in Action strengths. Go to viame.org to take the free strengths assessment.)
5. How have my GRATITUDE, HAPPINESS, and POSITIVITY enhanced my RELATIONSHIPS?
(Remember, gratitude adds riches for you and all you bless with it. Happiness leads to success. Positivity garners an upbeat, vibrant and healthy life. Positive relationships are imperative for well-being. All four add huge texture to your life.)
6. Am I more MINDFUL and courageous in planning and living my life to attain the specific goals I want? Am I harnessing my GRIT? (passion and perseverance) to live my BEST SELF LIFE?
7. How has my ABILITY to be WILLING, OPEN, FLEXIBLE and to ACCEPT all my emotions blossomed?
Yes, even the so-called negative emotions are normal. It’s AOK to feel negative emotions about 20% of the time, according to Todd Kashdan and Robert Biswas-Deiner in their fascinating, new book, The Upside of Your Dark Side. Use LKM, loving-kindness meditation, to help you deal with your inner critic, if it decides to stay a tad too long.
How did you score?
What questions would you add? Are you smiling? Hope so!
To really sit into your life as you evaluate the last 15 years, be OPTIMISTIC. No place to be humble here! Pat yourself on the back for your PERSEVERANCE. Celebrate your ACCOMPLISHMENTS. Use this awareness as a springboard to your next 15 years. Or maybe take one year at a time. You choose. Forward-ho you go!
Remember, Appreciative Inquiry teaches “what you focus on grows”, so take a trip down Memory Lane and SAVOR. Positive reminiscing is good for your heart and soul!
Want some added health benefits? Positive emotions are contagious! (Barbara Fredrickson’s research, www.positivityresonance.com). Share your positivity with other people face-to-face. Every day, let your smiles spread throughout your village of folks you meet. Susan Pinker’s research enlightens you need to actually be with people daily. Her book, The Village Effect – How Face-to-Face Contact Can Make Us Healthier, Happier, and Smarter is terrific.
Yes, you need to be physical present, to add years of happy longevity, joy and continued learning in your life. Get off Facebook and go for a walk. Smile and greet everyone you meet. Savor the smiles. Feel the warmth.
OK, back to my photos.
I promised you in my last blog about my recent trip to India and Nepal, I would share more photos. Each photo represents the grand lady STRENGTH of them all, LOVE. I’ll add a GRATITUDE chaser, too.
Positive reminiscing…Mom loved India and Nepal. She was thrilled for me when I first joyfully journeyed there three years ago to meet my Nepali son, Hari Aryal and family. You see their lovely smiling faces here.
In the boat photo, you see solemn me with some of Mom’s ashes. A part of her now rests in the India and Nepal she loved. I also left her ashes at the Taj Mahal. She sat exactly where I did. Sweet memories. Son Hari also had a ceremony with Mom’s ashes in Nepal. She so loved Hari. His dream, sweet man, was to talk with her on Skype, and they did! I can still see their excited, happy faces. Now a part of her rests with him, too.
OK, time to laugh.
Wait till you hear the Taj Mahal back story.
We visited the Taj Mahal our very last day of the trip. It did not disappoint. My dream had always been to share seeing the Taj Mahal with Ken. You know what a romantic I am. The trip was a bit much for him to dive into. As a surprise for him, I had a poster made, unfurled it, and yippie! We were together. I needed that dream to come true one way or another.
Back story: At the entrance of the Taj Mahal, guards are everywhere. They search your purse. They saw the poster and began to take it away. I beseeched our guide, and she put her mouth into high gear. Then she opened her wallet, too! Within a few moments, I had my dear Ken ready to sit on that bench with me!
The elephant? It’s the most variegated-vista way to travel through the jungle. Even with vendors begging me to buy parasols, paintings, and shawls, it was pure fun.
The orange photo-op man on the banks of the Ganges River in Jaipur, India, blessed me as I walked past the crematorium. We were humbled by the sight of many bodies burning on pyres of wood ornately strewn with orange marigolds. Their ashes would be gathered and ceremoniously placed in the Ganges River. Yes, this is a very heart-full ceremony, no photos allowed.
For those of you who emailed asking I share more photos, thanks for your input. I hope these etched a smile upon your face.
Happy New Year! I wish you fun flourishing, happiness, and continued success!
Namaste,
Judy
P.S. I want to take this time to thank my terrifically talented and incredibly kind web designer and webmaster, Warren Samu, for creating my new website this year. He is THE BEST and the epitome of talented class.