A slogan from the 1960s said: “If it feels good, do it.”
It was a way to assert one’s freedom , to branch out from what was socially acceptable into an area that was, well, not.
We all love to do what feels good, but it might be better to follow the advice of author, speaker and TV personality Les Brown: “do what you know, not what you feel.”
Brown is saying that we should do what we know we need to do, not just what feel like doing.
Let’s take that a step further. We know we need to eat right and exercise. But at a given moment, we might feel like relaxing on the couch with a big piece of chocolate cake. If you’ve exercised and eaten right most of the day, perhaps relaxation and a piece of cake are well deserved. But eating cake EVERY day because it feels good is not a good habit.
This works to the contrary as well. Sometimes, after a highly stressful day at work, you KNOW there is take-home work to do, but you want to just relax. You may need the relaxation more than the extra work. You may need balance in your life. Sometimes, your body tells you to back off work awhile.
Also, doing what you know you should do may mean spending more time with your family, instead of tackling that take-home work. A good rule here: if work really can wait, let it, if you are at home.
Some other activities make us feel good, but may keep us from doing what we know we should. Television is a perfect example. If you are neglecting something you know you should be doing but believe you don’t have time, think about how much time you may spend watching television.
Sure, the little screen is big entertainment, and very enjoyable. Some programming is certainly worth watching (much, sadly, is not). If you are doing what you know you should, chances are you are doing it with no remote in hand.
Many people get introduced to opportunities to change their lives and live their dreams, but pass it by because, “I couldn’t put another thing on my plate.” Some people really can’t. But most don’t want to change their lives badly enough to check it out.
You see, they will tell you that they are doing what they know they should be doing, and not what they feel like doing. Their plates may be overflowing, they are stressed, yet comfortable. Tackling something new and different would be uncomfortable. Perhaps they don’t realize what their lives are doing to them – and not doing for them.
Does that sound like you?
Perhaps you FEEL you have to do what you do, and neglecting some of what you REALLY should be doing, and don’t even know it.
Do you know there might be something better out there for you? If it were presented to you, would you want to look at it? If so, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau.
If you KNOW you are not doing what you should be doing much of the time, but feel like you HAVE to do what you’re doing, then look for something that will encourage you to do more of what you should be doing.
Only you can know what that is. Only you can act on doing those things. Only you can change your life, if it needs changing.
That doesn’t mean you don’t treat yourself to a little decadence once in a while. But don’t eat cake EVERY day, at the expense of the right foods and exercise.
But your dreams are waiting. Eventually, why not eat your cake, and still have it.
Peter