Wordless
In the wordless world, feel doesn’t exist for self-evident reason.
Wordy
In the wordy world, it is all about stimulus-response and, in that, your feelings play a starring role.
Many word-users believe what we go after and what we avoid is determined by what is going on within us and without us. If that were true, we’d be little more than elevators with buttons to push.
In the beginning
Well, in the beginning of the game of pursuit and avoidance is the pursuit of something or other and, therefore, with the avoidance of everything else. That explains why FOMO (the Fear Of Missing Out) is among the popular on the fears buffet.
Next, you will get results no matter what, is usually how it works. However, we don’t value results. The reason is as simple. We don’t value things, we value their meaning. Hence step number 3, you attach meaning. Others can help, but nobody else can do it for you.
What you feel is about the feeling itself. How you feel is about the intensity.
Once you decided the meaning, it is how it makes you feel that determines your decision of what to pursue and what to avoid next.
It is a circle game.
- Feelings are to be felt.
- Understanding feelings is a poor substitute for feeling.
- Thinking about how it will feel if all goes well cannot compete with feeling it now.
- Ignoring feelings is ignoring feelings are a gift you’re meant to keep.
- Drowning feelings? Amplifying feelings? Good luck with that.
I’m not suggesting feelings should be the purpose of life. All I’m saying is give feelings a chance.
“Sometimes I feel very, very confident and I lose in straight sets.” – Roger Federer
Never a question of choice
You can feel good or bad anytime.
People do it every day.
Because we don’t make choices. We make decisions.
“The warrior’s approach is to say yes to life. Say yea to it all. Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy. When we talk about settling the world’s problems, we’re barking up the wrong tree. The world is perfect. It’s a mess. It has always been a mess. We are not going to change it. Our job is to straighten out our own lives.” – Joseph Campbell
“Be of good cheer. Do not think of today’s failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere. And you will find joy in overcoming obstacles.” – Helen Keller