SHACKLES ON OR SHACKLES OFF — Mindfulness and the “Must-Do’s” 

Living with joy and celebration can be a huge component of creating your success! It can also be a powerful force when moving through perceived obstacles. When we are “all in” and excited, we tend to see great results from our efforts. Sometimes, however, there are things in life that we just can’t avoid “having to do” — so we must choose to do them and find a way to create joy while doing it.  I asked Life Coach Penelope Lara to share some of her “secrets”.

From guest contributor Penelope Lara….. read and “In Joy”:

A trick that I have learned to help me get the most joy out of my day is to determine which parts of my day give me the feeling of imprisonment and which give me the feeling of freedom.  I call these the feelings of “shackles on” and “shackles off”. 

As you look at your day, it’s easy to identify the things you enjoy and want to do.  These are the things that we live for; the joy of life and our bliss.  These “shackles off’ activities allow us to soar and experience the flow that we want in our lives. 

On other side of the spectrum, the activities that we often dread and that give us a feeling of “shackles on” seem to easily cause conflict in our lives. Unfortunately, even just one activity that gives us the feeling of “shackles on” can affect our mood, our day, and the general flow of our life. So it is very important to look at what is causing this in our life and to learn how to overcome it. 

 Typically, a “shackles on” activity is associated with a limiting belief about the activity or a sense of inner conflict. An inner conflict arises when I feel I need or should do something that I have no desire to do. Surely everyone deals with this dilemma but there is a solution. By identifying the feelings associated with our activities we can determine what we need to change. 

With “shackles on” activities, we must decide whether we want to alter it or get rid of it altogether. Often when we feel we really must do something, there is not an option to get rid of it, so the other option is easier to work with. 

Ultimately, we can choose to pursue the activity with new eyes or we can make the activity more enjoyable. That said, let’s look at the example of having to cook dinner.  Many women feel they have to have prepare a meal for themselves or their families each night and may not enjoy cooking or not have the time for it. So how can we make this more of a “shackles on” activity?

You can decide to make the activity more enjoyable by bringing people you love into the kitchen. For example, you can replace the annoyance of peeling potatoes by yourself with the joy of collaborating with a family member or friend who can help you. Or you can decide to pick up some prepared foods from your local grocery store and spend your time cooking only the parts of the meal that you enjoy and that bring our your creativity. In fact, even just thinking of ways to make that experience more enjoyable is a healthy exercise that will allow you to transform the feelings of “shackles on” to “shackles off”.

The possibilities are endless. Ultimately, it is about finding the bliss in the activity that we decide we must do so that there is a shift in our thinking about it. From waking up to go to work to doing that 1 hour of exercise everyday, there almost always is a blissful way to do it. We really can find the joy in every moment of our day. It is just a matter of practice and shifting our mind set.  

 Thanks so much to our wonderful guest Contributor Penelope Lara! Wishing you all much joy and zest in this amazing week! 

Hugs,

Meridith Hankenson Alexander

www.ilovemyimpossible.com