Biographies: Famous or not, are of high personal benefit
Whether you like reading or watching biographies or not, it´s very likely that there are people in your life who inspire you by the way they are going through life, make choices and handle situations. It is of tremendous value to us to think about the people we admire. It’s easier to stick with famous people, since we can read up on them and understand better how to lead such an inspiring life. At the same time, we learn valuable information about ourselves. Whenever we are fascinated with someone, something that we have inside ourselves resonates. We can isolate that virtue and then go about assessing its prevalence in our own life. Then we can go about increasing it through concrete plans and action steps and thus incorporating it in our very own personal way. For example, if you admire Mother Teresa, the virtue might be caring for others, unconditional love, or a clear vision followed through. Where do these things show up in your own life? It does not mean you would need to strive to do the same things as her, but rather incorporating the same qualities and principles. Unconditional love can be shown towards pets or even plants, as well as people in need. Caring can be expressed by cooking healthy meals for your family or providing through holding down a job that is not necessarily your dream, but pays well enough.
Studies show that we tend to think everyone thinks and resonates with things very much the same. In this case we might think because we admire someone, most people admire that person for the same reasons. That is not the case. Admiration goes beyond recognizing that someone is famous for various reasons. It touches something within ourselves, a desire, a talent, a personal dream.
I often encourage my clients to make a list of five to ten people they admire the most and list the top three attributes they admire about each of them. This attribute list is a great inventory of our own priorities in life; the things that truly matter to us become visible and can be acknowledged and expanded. That step increases happiness and fulfillment significantly. Often very little steps can change us from lethargic-depressed to inspired, meaningful and connected. In the example from above, a client had Mother Teresa in her Top five List. The client resolved to volunteer at an animal shelter one hour a week (like most of us, she had a very busy life). She soon came to sessions happy and with a newly found feeling of making a difference in this world. Her overall life quality improved, and her tendency to feel depressed disappeared. The point is, without stopping to think about whom she admires and why, she did not think of herself as a particularly caring person with love to give.
This month, keep in mind to ask yourself who it is that you truly admire and why. Then check when and where the answers to the “Why?” are part of your own life. Find one or two simple things that you can incorporate in your life and that make you feel good when you envision having done so. Enjoy. More on this and similar topics at: www.HealthWithTaste.blogspot.com.
Category: Life Style
