Hi,
I'm Greg,
And thanks for connecting in this way.
As far as any of us knows for certain,
We have only one opportunity to live this life.
It's possible there's more than that,
But none of us knows for sure.
And so we might as well live our best lives.
We might as well strive to be the best versions of ourselves.
And some would say the object is to live a life of flourishing,
To thrive in this life,
To live the abundant life,
As Jesus called it.
And the question,
Of course,
Is how do we do that?
No doubt humans have been pursuing that question since we evolved to be as we are.
And I'm quite taken by the insights of positive psychology that suggest a bit of a blueprint for how we can achieve thriving in this life.
So I'm going to take us through a series of eight questions.
Eight questions that will allow some insight into how we're doing in this life.
These questions will help us to uncover the degree to which we are at least trying to thrive or flourish or find abundance.
No doubt flourishing or thriving or abundance comes more easily to some than to others.
No doubt our environments have a lot to do with that.
No doubt the stressors in our lives and our own situations and circumstances have a lot to do with that.
But each of us can exert some influence over the degree to which we are flourishing in this life.
And to exert that influence means,
Well,
Trying.
Doing our best.
Putting effort into it.
Life ought not simply be that which happens to us,
But what we make of the situations in which we find ourselves.
For this practice,
You might want to have a journal or notebook and pen handy.
Maybe you've got an app on your device where you can make notes.
And this won't be a journaling exercise per se,
Unless that's the direction you want to go.
But rather,
You'll be capturing simple answers to questions.
And if you're not recording your responses,
That's fine too.
Simply moving through the practice,
Simply directing your focus to these questions can have significant influence on your life.
So as you're comfortable noticing what stressors or tensions exist,
Noticing the quality of your breath,
Its various characteristics,
Take a moment of release.
If you're doing this in the evening or at nighttime,
You have a whole day's worth of activities behind you.
Take a moment to let those go,
As if in a biodegradable helium balloon.
And if it's morning,
You may have expectations or anticipations,
You may be thinking about your schedule ahead.
Take a moment just to let all of that go.
Be present to yourself and to the practice,
Connecting with the divine or God for these moments.
The first question.
Thinking back over the previous 24 hours,
Or since you last did this practice,
To what extent did you try to be happy?
There might be a numerical scale you're using for these questions,
Maybe 1 to 7 or something like that.
Or maybe some other scale that you have come up with.
Or maybe more qualitative responses.
But when you consider the degree to which you tried to be happy,
You might think about your efforts to tap into your brain's happiness chemistry.
Thinking about the opportunities for oxytocin.
Did you give someone a hug or cuddle someone?
Dopamine,
Did you achieve something?
Complete a task?
Endorphins,
Did you go for a run or engage in physical activity?
Serotonin,
Did you meditate or go for a walk?
Or spend time alongside someone?
To what degree did you try to be happy?
To put yourself in situations where happiness would be the expected outcome?
Happiness is not everything in life.
But it is something.
It's one component of a flourishing life.
The second question,
To what degree did you try to lose yourself at some point?
This means to what degree did you seek to find flow or engagement with life?
Usually this means seeking situations wherein you can put your signature strengths,
Your best or favorite qualities or characteristics to the test.
Did you try to challenge yourself so that you could fully engage in that task or in that moment?
So you could be in a state of flow wherein time loses its relevance,
Your focus is unbroken,
Your connection with your task or the moment is strong,
And your signature strengths were being put to use.
It's important in these questions not to answer for the first one,
How happy were you?
Or for the second one,
How well did you find flow?
But rather,
To what degree did you try?
This is gauging your own effort.
So the second question again,
To what degree did you try to find flow or engagement to lose yourself in something you were doing?
Third question,
To what degree did you try to nurture relationships in your life?
Did you put effort into connecting with someone?
Maybe there's a relationship in which forgiveness is needed.
Did you try either to seek or offer forgiveness?
Maybe there's someone who's been on your mind.
Did you try to reach out to them to offer encouragement or love?
The third question is,
To what degree did you try to nurture relationships in your life?
The fourth question,
To what degree did you try to pursue meaning and purpose in life?
In other words,
Did you listen for how God or your soul is calling you toward something greater than yourself?
Did you try to align your life with meaning and purpose?
Something greater than yourself?
To what degree did you try to achieve something?
Maybe there's a long-term project you're working on.
Maybe a short-term goal you've set.
Maybe your life's work is before you.
To what degree did you try to achieve?
The final three questions relate to lifestyle or routine choices that can set you up for success.
So the sixth question,
How well did you set yourself up for a good sleep?
It's not how well did you sleep,
But how well did you set yourself up for a good sleep?
This might mean disengaging from devices or screens for a certain period of time,
Maybe an hour before going to bed.
This might mean going to bed at a reasonable hour for your sleep needs.
This might mean releasing thoughts and stressors from your mind before you go to sleep.
This might mean writing down ideas or thoughts you're having as you're trying to fall asleep so that you don't need to worry about them during your sleep.
This might mean setting up your sleeping space in a way that is conducive to good sleep.
The sixth question is,
How well did you set yourself up for a good sleep?
The seventh question,
How well did you eat?
Thinking back over the previous 24 hours or whatever time period you're considering,
How well did you eat?
Being well is different for each person,
And it's important to know what that means for you.
But how well did you eat?
And our eighth question,
Finally,
How well did you move?
How well did you move your body?
Again,
Moving well is something that each of us defines for ourselves.
It likely means getting your heart rate up.
It might mean doing some resistance movements to engage your muscles.
How well did you move?
Those are all of the questions for this practice of reflection.
You might have drawn your attention to intentions you might set for the next day.
You might simply have gained greater awareness of how you lived your life than the previous day.
Regardless,
I hope that you are able to live a life of flourishing,
The abundant life wherein you thrive,
Knowing your purpose,
Having meaningful relationships,
Finding joy,
Full engagement,
And love.
My hope is that you and each of us knows a life of love,
And beauty,
And peace,
And striving.
May you know all of these in your life.
Until next time,
My name is Greg,
Wishing you peace.
