Seven ways to good mental health (part 3of3)
They need to be taken in sequence. Total mastery is not required, but the time to move on is when you feel, or get a sense, that some movement has taken place within your mind. Psychological shifts are felt with a lightness, better sleep, smiling, singing, noticing beauty around you, wanting to do something different, spring cleaning…
Creative Activity:
Everyone is a creative being. Stifling our creative outlet leads to poor mental health our creativity is frequently stifled long before we realize what is happening, and then it seems too late because we believe what we have been told about ourselves. Creativity is about expressing yourself in the world. If you create a simple, badly written story with atrocious spelling and poor grammar, then you have expressed yourself creatively. Your creative works do not have to be seen by others. Others tend to judge, and if you decide to create in an area where others have much greater expertise then your creation will not initially withstand comparison. But that doesn’t mean you should not do it.
Photography and gardening have been loves of mine since I was 14. I decided to combine the two interests and my photographs developed a distinctly horticultural slant. At one point I wanted to share them with the world and offered them for sale. It was awhile before I made my first sale, and another while before one of my pictures adorned the cover of a magazine. One day I looked back at those first photographs I offered. I felt embarrassed at the poor quality – compared to my later work. But it was only by taking more and more pictures, looking at what was being published, and constantly improving that I achieved my dream of a picture on a magazine cover. But the important thing was that I enjoyed what I was doing. I did not have to show them to the world. I did not have to place them in the market for comparison with others who had much greater skill and experience than I. But I did need to take the pictures. It was part of whom I was and how I needed to express myself. My pleasure came from the picture taking, looking at the pictures, and constantly seeking ways to become more skilled at my craft.
Express yourself in something that you love to do. Show it only if you want to, but do not stop doing it whiles you love what you do.
Right Livelihood:
In a way this follows on from the previous step. It is the logical consequence of expressing yourself through what you love to do.
Now lest you are becoming concerned that I might ask you to do something you cannot do – like find another job – I never ask anyone to do what they cannot do. I might, however, ask you to ask yourself what exactly is it that is stopping you from doing it. At least that way you can move towards an acceptance of the barrier to happiness.
From time to time I ask the people I encounter “If you could be doing anything you wanted to do, would you choose your current livelihood?” I’ve yet to meet someone who answered ‘yes’ to that question. Those people are out there. They just do not need to come to see me.
People tend to either hate what they do, but it’s all they can get in the way of work; or their work is okay, but they are earning too much money to give it up and does something fun for a living.
Look to how you feel when you get up in the morning on a workday. Is there any excitement or sense of anticipation or looking forward to the challenges of the day ahead? This is a good sign. If there is dread, a wishing for the day to be over, tiredness, or a general lack of enthusiasm – then something needs to change, either the work or the attitude towards it.
Go back to step one and accept whatever it is you are engaged in right now. Accept that you would like to be doing something more fun but that you do not know how to bring about the change, or you fear taking the necessary steps. That is all. As best you can find small pleasures in what you do – even if it’s just the appreciation for how the income makes life better than life would be without that income; or appreciation for the good feeling that comes from making a contribution that benefits someone, somewhere.
And then make a list of all the things you love to do.
And then write a fantasy job description for an income-generating job doing each of the things on your list.
Then find a way to do one thing you love to do for free.
Related posts:
