I went to another #WGW this morning, a mountain hike with local entrepreneurs.
And once again, I almost didn’t go.
Early rise. Long before sunrise.
A long drive.
The day feels “off schedule.”
Fewer work boxes ticked.
An hour uphill. Not exactly a walk in the park.
I could feel the excuses lining up nicely.
Then the first people arrive.
First conversations start.
We begin walking.
And almost immediately I think, how ridiculous that I almost skipped this.
The people. The movement. The laughter. The ideas mid-climb.
That subtle but powerful shift in my state that lasts till next Friday.
It changes my whole day.
Often my whole week.
And I caught myself thinking: I need to do a better job remembering this feeling. Remembering how holistically good this is for my life - socially, mentally, emotionally. How it expands and inspires me. How it reminds me I can do hard things. How it inspires me to try bigger things.
This is behavioral activation in action. You do the thing - you get the feeling.
In coaching and therapy for anxiety or depression, behavioral activation is a simple, effective, and often-used tool. When someone feels stuck, anxious, low, withdrawn, flat - we don’t start with “fix your thoughts.” We often start with: do something different.
Specifically, do something that might bring joy, meaning, connection, energy, fulfillment.
Before the activity, you write down:
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How you expect you’ll feel.
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Whether you think you’ll like it.
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Your “doom and gloom” forecast.
After the activity, you write down how you actually felt.
2 things usually happen.
First, you see how unreliable your predictions can be. Especially in the fun. The mind says, “This will be exhausting. Not worth it. Stay home.”
Reality says, “That was exactly what I needed.”
Second, you build data. A reference library of lived evidence about what (and who) genuinely makes you feel better.
Over time, you stop treating your mood like weather, like majority of people do — random, uncontrollable, something that just happens to you.
You start treating it like a craft.
What you feel each day is not only chemistry or circumstance. It’s also the sum of activities you choose to put on your calendar.
A painting doesn’t become bright by accident.
It becomes bright because you chose the colors.
Living your life is your ultimate masterpiece.
And the best part?
YOU choose the colors to paint with.
Over to you, dear reader,
What’s on your list of things that always make you feel better, even though you resist them at first? And when will you schedule the next one?
