Why Do You Do What You Do?

It’s a question we should all ask ourselves sometimes, isn’t it? Why DO we do what we do? Are you blindly going through life without questioning yourself? Do you do what you do consciously? Is your life a conscious choice?

Ooh, deep for a Tuesday morning! But, seriously, I see so many people in-clinic who are actually just going through life’s motions and doing what they should do (or think they should do) and it is clearly making them unhappy.

Part of my job as a naturopathic clinician is to consider what might be impacting on someone’s health, and stress, frustration, boredom, resentment, joy, contentment or whatever emotions are most apparent will make a real difference.

I am a bit of a nagbag when it comes to this. It frustrates ME when I see someone just living a life that doesn’t suit them or make them happy. So, today, your job is to think about this subject. Are you happy with your life? Would you prefer to make some changes? What would you need to do and how can you take a step towards it?

It might take some time, but it’s worth it. Trust me, I’ve done it and worn the T shirt. I gave up a powerful PR job with wads of money, prospects and cabriolet cars etc to do what was just in my heart to do. I swapped extrinsic benefits (trappings and commercialism) for intrinsic ones (the ones that feed your soul, but don’t make paying the bills as easy!!). Everyone always says that was brave, but actually it wasn’t. It was just needed. I now have a life I love (I thought this earlier as I was brushing my teeth, hence the post!) and I MADE that happen, it didn’t just fall from the sky. It’s not perfect, of course. I still have my own issues, not least my own health problems, but I have the bones, the structure right which is a good place to be.

And you can do the same.

You might not be able to change everything, but it’s surprising how being more conscious about life and making decisions to either change, accept or relish in your life’s choices can give you a sense of control over things. YOU control your life; it doesn’t control you. YOU make choices, life doesn’t. YOU can choose to think about a situation in a particular way; stress comes from feeling out of control and from feeling negative about something. Next time something happens, think: are you letting this happen and if it does need to happen this way, can you stop worrying about it or change your mindset to a positive one?

Here’s an example:

A person has been in their job for years and is now bored with it. But they stick with it because it pays quite well and it’s easy, although they feel frustrated and unchallenged, stomping about a bit, becoming lazy and irritable probably! 

They can either start thinking about what else they might wish to do, take steps to train in it if need be (giving themself a new challenge whilst working and a sense of control over their life), or they can think actually they are making a positive choice to stay at that job because it pays well and is easy, which allows them to have a life outside of work they enjoy (thus going from a negative mindset to a positive one).

They could also choose to pick up a hobby or something creative to plug the boredom gap. They could also talk to their colleagues or boss about being put forward for other projects, not necessarily related to their current role, or be paid any more for doing it, as money would be nice but that’s not the need. 

 I’m sure you get the point so I’ll stop nagging now. But Be More Conscious of your life; don’t just let it pass by, it’s too precious.  End of lecture and back to work!