THE POWER OF FACING IT
When I heard that one way to allow space for our intentions is to tackle the least desirable items on our to-do lists, I felt less than ecstatic. I had spent many days using the Xpill choosing feeling-based intentions such as: Feel calm and peaceful, be open to others, feel serene and grounded at work, enjoy the moment with my family, etc. All these proved beneficial, and my days felt exactly as I had stated.
I took on the new challenge by stating: “By taking this Xpill, I will finish reading a book by the end of the day.” Since then I have proceeded to state intentions about cleaning my bathroom, running a half-marathon with ease, meditating, organizing my garage, etc. I felt so accomplished and calm by the end of each day. And I enjoyed the excitement that I felt each evening when posting my successes on the Xpill Facebook page.
The difference that I am noticing with choosing the concrete goals is the feeling of accomplishment and energy at the end of the day. Each pattern that I’ve started (reading, meditating) has continued into my next days. I have read portions of a book each day and have started listening to a mediation on the way to work. I continue to organize areas of my house.
By tackling the less desirable to-do items, I am finding my overall, underlying, daily frustration level begin to ease.
I became aware of this low level, but continuous, frustration when walking into my garage and immediately feeling annoyed. I realized that the things that I had been putting off had been impacting my ability to fully enjoy my day-to-day living. Now I am experiencing more joy at work. I am calmer when engaging with others. I feel a level of focus that I’ve never felt before. I feel like I can take on new projects. I am beginning to look at previously enjoyable activities and find ways to reincorporate them into my life.
My discovery was reinforced when I read this except from the book, Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi:
“As our studies have suggested, the phenomenology of enjoyment has eight major components. When people reflect on how it feels when their experience is the most positive, they mention at least one, and often all, of the following:
- First, the experience usually occurs when we confront tasks we have a chance of completing.
- Second, we must be able to concentrate on what we are doing.
- Third and fourth, the concentration is usually possible because the task undertaken has clear goals and provides immediate feedback.”
I experienced flow because I picked tasks that were well within my reach each day and gave myself the concentration to do it by setting the intention early in the day. I received immediate feedback and reward by posting it on the Xpill Facebook group when I completed it.
Through this new discovery, I have walked away with a feeling of “nailed it!”