Fifteen of my Favourite Feelings

A little while ago, Hank Green posted a video called 15 of My Favourite Feelings. In the description of the video, he says:
When we're confronted with negative experiences, we want to analyze them and think about them and remember them for future use. But with positive emotions, we often just feel them and enjoy them, which is wonderful, but also leads to us putting less weight on them and it seems like they take up less space in our minds. [...] Recognizing and harping on the positive experiences we have is a great way, I think, to both have a better outlook on life, and have more positive experiences.
I think he's right. I could use a little boost right now, so I decided to spend some time thinking about fifteen of my favourite feelings.

  1. When someone I really respect tells me, unprompted, that they really respect me
  2. When someone tells me that something I said to them a long time ago, and I've long since forgotten having said it in the first place, has stuck with them, and has shaped their choices and decisions.
  3. Reading a book I didn't expect to love, but quickly becoming so immersed in the story that I have to stay up reading until my eyes hurt from fighting to keep them open.
  4. Meeting someone for the first time and instantly knowing you're going to really like them.
  5. Having a vision of an exact shade of lipstick I want, and magically finding it.
  6. Getting messages from people I haven't spoken to in a while, telling me that something I've written has resonated with them personally.
  7. Remembering old jokes and stories with long-time friends and laughing as much as we did the first time.
  8. Seeing people I deeply care about find a person or a place or a job that makes them happier than anything else. 
  9. Talking about makeup with other people who also really love talking about makeup.
  10. The first moment of realizing that the wound left by people and situations that have hurt me is completely healed, and I don't have to ever think about it or them again.
  11. The relief that comes with finally making a hard decision.
  12. Spending a whole recovery day in bed, binging on a new season of TV.
  13. Walking out of a hot yoga studio and being hit with a wave of air conditioning.
  14. The easy and honest conversations that come at the end of a long, good day over a cup of tea.
  15. A text from a friend of family out of the blue, just saying hi, and reminding me that good relationships are not conditional on constant contact.
This was really nice, and almost cathartic. It's good to remind ourselves of the things that make us feel good.

Comments

Marion said…
"Good relationships are not conditional on constant contact."

I hope that's true!

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