Intention

If you are  a client, this framed sheet will look very familiar. It was created from information found in Sonja Lyubomirsky’s book The How of Happiness. Happiness or emotional well-being is often a topic of conversation in session. Knowing that your intentional activity can determine your level of emotional well being is helpful when we decide to get in the driver’s seat of our life. We are in the middle of a pandemic and much of what can happen in our lives is out of our hands. However, the intention we set each and every day for how we will move through our life is very much in our hands so let’s get steering.

Respond don’t react. Another often repeated phrase in session! Let’s combine intention and responding. Missing your friends and family? a. Devote some time to connecting with them through old or new technology. Write a letter, send an email or make a phone call. Feeling depressed or at a low ebb? b. Express gratitude for what you do have. Maybe you don’t have a lot so that can be hard to move towards. The flowers are beginning to sprout. I saw forsythia bushes in full color today. That was free, and I am very grateful for those new blossoms. You do have food in your pantry and refrigerator? Savor those meals. Practice mindful eating. Which would take care of h. and I. Making things happen and pursue new understanding and seek new achievements. I know every meal I manage to mindfully eat feels like a major achievement.

By setting an intention every day to focus on the things you do have control over (you!) and responding not reacting, you can increase your emotional well-being and use the resilience you will have generated to handle the inevitable stressors of living through a pandemic.