Feel-good tips

I have two books written by Paul Wilson, The Little Book of Pleasure and The Little Book of Hope.

According to Paul, "It’s impossible to feel bad, or stressed while you’re feeling good." So over the years, he has taken note of the things that make people feel good.

Here are some excerpts from The Little Book of Pleasure:

• Smile at a stranger, while making no effort to communicate, and enjoy the surprise it engenders.

• Imagine how good you feel after completing a difficult task and your boss says, "Perfect."

• Life is infinitely more enriching when you notice it. Observe and you will see the beauty.

• Invest the little extra effort it takes to be positive and optimistic. It pays off over and over again.

• Listen for the sound of your own silence, and you’ll find perfect harmony.

• Seek it out, suck it in, but get as much fresh air as your lungs will allow. All that oxygen will elevate your mood in no time.

• You can make yourself feel wonderful simply by making the decision to feel wonderful. Give yourself permission to feel good right now even if it is only for a short while.

• Submit yourself to the pleasure of having your feet rubbed (or do it yourself). Rubbing the acupressure points on your soles will ease you into a relaxed state.

• Hum just one tune you associate with happy memories of your childhood, and those good feelings will come flooding back.

• Focus on every detail of every moment, savoring every taste, absorbing every sound, sensing every color – and you will discover pleasure in things you might never have known existed.

• Tap your face. Feel a warm glow flow through your body as slightly bent at the waist, you lightly pat your face with the fingers of each hand. This stimulates vital blood vessels and acupressure points in the facial area.

• Waste time dreaming. It is no waste of time to daydream about pleasurable events – seeing, hearing and feeling the things that give you pleasure.

• Simplify. Approach life with your full attention and an open mind and you’ll find pleasure in the most unlikely places, a baby’s laugh, a perfect cloud, a wildflower, or a breath of fresh air.

• Take the whole day. Dedicate a day to just being with someone you love, without distraction or expectation.

• Stay for breakfast. One day each week, treat yourself to breakfast in bed, armed with a newspaper and nothing to do for an hour.

It’s true. It is impossible to feel bad when you’re busy feeling wonderfully good.

Feel good and enjoy the feeling!

(E-mail me at babyjackster@hotmail.com)