👉 Cognitively, rationally, or logically understanding a concept is not the same as living it, embodying it, or feeling it.
🤔 Take gratitude for instance. They tell us that people who feel gratitude are happier and healthier.
🤯 Well… correlation does not equal causation. So telling me to feel gratitude in order to be happier and healthier only causes my perfectionist self to set yet another unreachable ‘should’ goal I can shame myself for not getting right.
😮 Genuine gratitude comes from authentically and somatically experiencing ‘I like this. I want this. I am happy with this. I enjoy this. I feel safe with this.’
Gratitude and therefore the corresponding benefits organically come when we
✨ heal our unprocessed wounds
✨ see what is and not what we project from our trauma
✨ notice ups as well as downs
✨ experience each moment without an extra layer of unnecessary judgment, fear, or shame
✨ sit with our feelings, uncomfortable as well as celebratory
✨ allow ourselves to truly enjoy a moment, appreciate a person or gesture, deeply understand a situation, feel a feeling or savour a thought.
I can report that:
🥳 I don’t hate my body anymore.
🥳 I don’t berate myself for ‘avoidable’ (translate: ‘stupid’) mistakes anymore
🥳 I don’t take things personally anymore
🥳 I don’t label myself anymore
🥳 I don’t spiral into the pits of catastrophizing doom and gloom forEVA!
🥳 I don’t believe all the nasty things my Inner Critic whispers about me.
🥳 I don’t worry that I will always end up burnt out and a total failure professionally and personally.
(🤣 Okay, okay, let’s add ‘…as much’ anymore, as this is all a work in progress.)
❤️ You can do this. If I can do this, anyone can.
Sherry Yuan Hunter 