3.5 Stars
Hi there Mel! I like your positive attitude to life. I like that you are a go-getter, and I am ecstatic that you succeeded!
Mel asks you to simply wake up in the morning and high five yourself in the bathroom mirror, or any mirror for that matter. The psychology behind doing this is that you can’t high five yourself and, in the same breath, say something negative about yourself. Therefore, the simple act of high-fiving yourself gives your self-confidence a boost at a time that it opportune – the time normally reserved for morning blues!
My key takeaways from this include:
• Mel: No matter how atrocious your past was, you can create a different future. It doesn’t matter that your habits are self-destructive or that your mistakes have been disastrous. You can change what happens next. Know that no matter how deep your pit of shame may be, you can climb out of it and start over.
Me: Our past defines us, or does it? I believe that it shapes our life up to a certain point of time, beyond which we take control. Majority of the time, we regret what we call ‘mistakes’ from the past, when perhaps they weren’t mistakes after all, perhaps they are what made us who we are. Everyone who knows you has a different perspective on your actions – some condemn them, whilst others praise them, what you choose to do with them is what matters in the end.
• Mel: Guilt is one of the most powerful emotions in the world. If you are susceptible to feeling it, you need to know how to break free. Feelings of guilt are like reins on a horse. Picture your spirit as a beautiful stallion who wants nothing than to feel its power and strength and speed. It wants to race across a field with the sun on its back and the wind on its mane. But the reins of guilt are pulling tight, slowing your spirit down and eventually stopping it where it stands: someone you love is going to be hurt or disappointed if you want to race in the direction of your dreams. All it can do is obey.
Me: The guilt trip – we all feel it at one point or another. It’s almost impossible to always choose ourselves over others. If I did this for myself, would I be selfish? Can’t I choose a course of action that satisfies the maximum number of people? I would rather get hurt than hurt the people I love – haven’t I already disappointed them enough? These are the questions that riddle us with guilt. We allow society and the people around us to dictate the course our life should take. Allow yourself to feel guilty but allow yourself to let go of it too. Guilt weighs heavily on the mind and preys on your conscience heavily. For me, guilt is the most powerful emotion of all, and it is important to learn to control it!
Mel speaks of other crippling emotions / habits such as Jealousy, Procrastination and Perfectionism, the “But do you like me?” syndrome and “Why me?” . . . They all drag us down. We just need the power to overcome them from time to time.
Current limiting belief: What will everyone think?
Flip it: My happiness is more important than what anyone else thinks about it.