Happiness Day 4
Day 4: Beware Unhealthy Sacrifice
To be happy, you have to know the difference between healthy sacrifice and unhealthy sacrifice. Healthy sacrifice is giving up something that is not helpful, authentic or smart for something that is, e.g., stop saying yes to everyone, cut your to-do list in half, quit trying to please everyone and stop denying your own needs. Unhealthy sacrifice is when you try to sacrifice your happiness, your health or your integrity for something else. The reason this type of sacrifice is so unhealthy is that it doesn't work in the long run for you or anyone else.
Be Happy Exercise: When you try to play the martyr, you lose and so does everyone else. One way to undo unhealthy sacrifice is to focus on receiving. People who are carers tend to be better at giving than at receiving, and this imbalance is what inevitably leads to sacrifice, exhaustion and unhappiness. Your assignment today is to be more open than usual, to let life support you and to let people give to you. Being a good receiver is what helps you to give yourself fully without giving yourself away.
Homework:
Well... How coincidental. My focus lately has been ABUNDANCE. Today was a great coffee with a friend and it was good to just sit in the company and chat. We talked about the boundaries we both have recently set that are feeling very Authentic. Uncomfortable, but authentic. Some of these boundaries are with others but the majority are with ourselves. Putting limiters on things that are getting in the way of receiving great things.
Like Sugar.
Warning: I may be a little food focused for the next little while. I have set a boundary against the system poison of sugars. Now, I know that sugars are not evil... oooooOOOOooo. No, but for my body it is very detrimental. it converts into nastiness that flairs a ton of other bad stuff. ( yes that is the official words. Bad Stuff. I should trade mark that.) So in addition to focusing on having great days ( yes, yesterday was a great day!), on being open and inviting to ABUNDANCE ( not just sufficiency ) I need to put my hands up as stop signs to the things in my life that are getting in the way of fully receiving and enjoying those abundances and joys.
10 days of detox from poisons. I am on day 2. Eight to go. Tylenol and the Xbox are going to be my survival tools. That and the very deep compassion and support of some very loving wo/menfolk!