The “Bad Mood” Lifestyle

By Brenda Anderson

Clearly, moving into the Power Zone helps us create larger, more rewarding lives. However, how do we begin to stop making those fearful choices and start making powerful ones? Here are some helpful hints:

 Believe you really do have the power to “create” your life. Belief is very powerful. It generates portals of possibility. Believe you can lose the weight or get a great job or meet your life partner—and you can. Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how to create your day. Why not choose to ‘Believe’? When you do, you step into your true power. And make no mistake: believing is a choice.

I recently heard about an interview with his Holiness the Dalai Lama in which he was asked why he remained so positive in spite of all of the insurmountable challenges he and his people faced. He simply and quietly replied, “It feels better.”

• Be aware of the seductive power of negativity. For some reason, negative, low-energy emotions and limiting beliefs are more tempting than positive emotions and empowering beliefs. We are more familiar with them, perhaps even more comfortable. After all, when we make low energy choices we don’t have to be accountable and change our behavior or solve problems. We can just complain and blame. And misery does love company: you’ll find plenty of people back you up and add some complaints of their own.

These low-energy emotions and the victim mentality they engender pull us away from the life we want. The second we doubt or diminish ourselves, we step into the Black Hole. The more we feed it with worry, fear, anger and stress, the larger it becomes and the faster we sink, making it harder to get out. The more hate, negativity, and judgment we throw at a problem, the bigger it gets. Everything feels more challenging because our internal expression has gone from a ‘can do, open approach’ to a ‘dark place of scarcity’ that affects our family, our job and everything we touch.

Give up our need to control. There is a big difference between “power” and “force.” Power gives life and energy; force takes them away. Unfortunately, most of us try to control and overpower, using our energy to manipulate individuals and situations. (Micromanaging, suspicion and negativity are signs that we’re using force.) Problem is, force doesn’t work. It is a low-ROE choice that feels bad to everyone involved. We simply can’t control the reactions of other people. And though we may feel completely justified in using force, it usually results in a lose-lose outcome. On the other hand, when we operate from a place of power, controlling only ourselves and our actions, we will always have a high ROE.