TREAT ME . This game has 2 parts . The first part goes like this: Imagine what you could do for little or no money that would give you the most imaginable feeling of freedom and would inspire you tremendously. Give yourself free reign to go wild and write down lists and lists of things that inspire you and that you will narrow down later. If you can’t imagine lists upon lists, don’t worry, just come up with one great thing to do that would give you such pleasure that you could scratch that off your list of “Things To Do Before I Go”. Remember that it should be something you can easily plan to do and then easily execute.
Part 2 goes something like this: Treat your friend to this experience/excursion that you’ve imagined. Treat them as you would want to be treated as you take them out to do whatever it is that you deciphered would greatly inspire you. Don’t make it expensive. That’s not the point of the game. Also that involves impressing someone and you’ll want to watch that. This should be an exercise from your heart and not involve your mind or any thoughts that will put you in the mode to impress or gain the approval of another human being.
NAME THAT FEELING . This game is easy, simple and winnable . Keep that in mind as you’re playing it. Name That Feeling has to do with negative feelings / emotions, such as anger, fear, anxiety, sadness, frustration, etc. To begin, you must be able to be completely honest with yourself. Your feelings must not be denied or dismissed. You must be frank with yourself and honest with what you’re feeling for this game to be fun and useful.
The instructions of this game are pretty much implied in the name. We’ll be naming our negative emotions / feelings. Why are we focusing on the negative? We’re not. We’re putting our attention on what has already come up within us, mentally and emotionally. This game is solely about paying attention. Now, when you name a feeling, simply name it. “Anger.” “Fear.” “Sadness.” “Anxiety.” “Frustration.” What we’re not going to do is this: we’re not naming who we’re frustrated with or who made us angry. We’re not blaming our sadness on another person. We’re not punishing ourselves for being afraid. We’re simply going to Name Our Feelings. And as we name them, we’re going to observe them as if we were watching ourselves from a distance.
It will feel odd, at first, to observe your feelings & emotions. You will get used to it. Begin doing this, with regularity, once every 2 weeks (or simply when you remember to). Then take it up a notch to once a week, then once a day, then every time you have a negative emotion. Again you make it fun, when you make it light. There is no wrong way to play this game. Watch out for punishing yourself. You only create further negative emotions, when you do. Remember that the negative is just the opposite/mirror image of the positive (think of the negative exposure created when you develop film or your own image in a mirror). That’s all. The rest - the connotation that negative is bad or wrong, something to avoid or dismiss - is just a feeling that is invoked when we hear the word “negative”.
Going at a pace that suits you, name your feelings, observe them and then watch what happens. Get really good at Naming Your Feelings. Take pride in being a great observer of emotions. Pat yourself on the back when you don’t judge your feelings and you simply allow them to be. Become the best Namer of Feelings ever known. Take pride in your ability. So that even when you’re in a funk, you can name the feeling that tipped the funk off.
