The Three Cures for All That Ails You

I’ve been where you are:

Frustrated, impatient, desperate, lost.

Hurt, angry, disappointed, humiliated.

Sick, in pain, overwhelmed, exhausted.

Anxious, ashamed, regretful, stuck.

Every single person

on this planet has experienced all of these emotions at one point or another.

There are three simple things that you can choose to focus on that will dig you right out of that negativity ditch.

They are: joy, health, and ease.

These are our natural state. We know this instinctively.

Number one: joy.

We are meant to be happy. It’s the reason we feel so badly when things don’t go our way. Deep down, we’re aware that it is our right to be joyful: that we ought to wake up every morning excited for the day, knowing we will spend it doing things we love.

When we feel trapped

by our circumstances it is often because our current life experience is not lined up with who we really are.

If you’re dying to be a professional cook but you’re currently working as an executive assistant, it’s natural to feel discontent with the day-to-day. If you can accept that the cook in you will not be satisfied until she gets out of your heart and mind and into your hands, you might see your assistant job differently; as a means to a better end.

If you’re doing what you must in order to do what you love, try saying to yourself once every hour: ‘this job is the perfect bridge between where I am and where I want to be’.

Cultivate joy where it didn't exist by changing your relationship to whatever is around you, and everything will improve. Look for ways to stay grateful. Then get your butt into some evening cooking classes and start taking consistent steps toward that joy that’s waiting for you.

Number two: health.

Health can be easy to take for granted, until you’ve lost it. If you do, you will do anything to get it back.

Frustration doesn’t begin to describe how it feels when you do not feel free to pursue your goals because of the limitations of your body. Confusion, worry, and stress set in. We go to doctor after doctor, looking for answers, rarely finding any. Or we come away with a diagnosis that makes us want to bury our head in the sand, or just give up.

For anyone whose first thought is despair when it comes to health, remember that your body is always fighting for you. Always, in all ways. Never forget that you are not alone with whatever you are experiencing, even if it’s slightly different from anyone you know. And never forget that there is always a way back to health. Always.

Our bodies are amazing.

When given what they need they can perform miracles, all on their own. We don’t have to tell them what to do, they are built to self-repair.

If you’ve hit a pothole on the highway of health, don’t give up. Be persistent. Challenge a diagnosis that feels wrong. Do your own research. Listen to your body, which will tell you what it needs to get better.

You might stumble upon a new fruit or vegetable that your body is crying out for, or a whole new way of eating that will revolutionize your health. A friend might recommend a health-related book and everything inside you will erupt with curiosity. You might suddenly be drawn to start a new exercise routine. These are messages for you that your path to health is within sight, so listen up, and get better.

Alright, we’ve got joy, and we’ve got health.

Number three: ease.

Life is meant to be ease-y! Full of ease. Easy street.

Ever notice that when you’re working intensely hard at something you’re often exhausted afterward? On the flipside, when you’re really enjoying yourself you simply want more, sleep be damned. When you find that place of inspiration, time stops: you’re loving yourself and your existence. You’re in ‘the zone’.

Have you ever noticed how kids never work too hard at anything? They try until they get bored, then they go find a new toy to play with. They color until they get bored, then they stop. It’s when we add rules into play that kids get…well…less than ease-y.

Give yourself permission to enjoy what you do.

Don’t make it all so hard. Even if the work you do day-to-day isn’t your life’s goal, find a way to make it easy by seeking out things to appreciate about that work. Maybe it pays the bills in a way that makes you feel secure, maybe it’s teaching you something that will empower you to be better at what you really want, or maybe it’s insanely challenging in a way that really gets your juices flowing. Get grateful, and get on with it.

Ease is the opposite of impatience, anxiety, frustration, and many others. If things do not feel ease-y, it's a signal to change your mind about whatever it is you're thinking about. So you haven't hit that goal you've been working toward yet, so what? Be ease-y, and the path to that goal, or to a new goal that never occurred to you, will feel so much better.

If we recognize that what feels awful about our current experience says quite a bit about who we really are - happy, healthy, and ease-y - we can snap out of that funk and get back on the happy train by simply changing our relationship to whatever is around us.

Do this consistently, and you will begin to see radical changes.

Maybe slowly at first, then all of a sudden you’ll look around at your life and realize things have gotten a whole lot better. I know, because I’ve tried it. And boy, does it work.

Comment below with your joy, health, and ease experiments. What have you tried? What worked? Where are you still struggling?

Your story might be just the thing for someone else who, right now, is where you used to be. Let's inspire each other to get happy, get well, and make peace through ease.

Much love,

N