“Enthusiasm is more powerful than gold and silver, status, power or possessions. Without enthusiasm all your gold is like a worthless stone, your power a burden and your possessions uninteresting. Enthusiasm makes everything you do in life worthwhile.”
Arnold Fox y Barry Fox
Wake up, you’re alive! A medical prescription to live healthier through positive thinking
The epigraph reveals the title of this writing, since enthusiasm, as explained by Doctors Fox in the chapter of their book, dedicated exclusively to this topic, is the starting point for a personal transformation, based on repeated transfusions. spiritual.
We find anenthusiasts everywhere, an expression coined by Dr. Arnold Fox (An: from the Greek “No” or “Without”; and Entheos, from the Greek meaning “In God” or “Full of God”) as a diagnosis of patients who They see life in a trivial way and nothing makes them happy; and therefore, loaded with negativity, they somatize various symptoms, but without critical effects on any organ. These people complain about everything and everyone, nothing motivates them and they always see obstacles to any assigned task. These human beings have lost their faith and do not have God within them.
From my own experience I can say that anenthusiastic people are not aware that they suffer from this spiritual illness, they find themselves in a box and connivance (self-deception) is their response to cover their foolishness and pessimism. Those around him are incompetent, incomprehensible to them, because they are always criticizing and looking for culprits. In their paranoia they feel threatened and persecuted. The whole world must change, except them. It is definitely better to keep these types of people distant.
You’re probably not an enthusiastic person, but maybe you don’t know what level of enthusiasm you have. Therefore, to assess how enthusiastic you are, you need to self-evaluate in this regard, in order to identify your starting point. Doctors Fox invite us to perform the following two brief tests.
I invite you not to rationalize your answers in test 1, because there is no good or bad answer; You must record what you really feel at the time of writing in response to each question. Do this exercise honestly, as it will help you identify your level of enthusiasm. Do the same for test 2, but with this you will be able to have feedback on your level of enthusiasm, since you will be able to obtain a quantitative average, adding the score for each of the nine questions and dividing the sum by nine. If your result is eight or more, I congratulate you, you have a high level of enthusiasm. If your average is seven, your enthusiasm is sinusoidal, to the rhythm of your emotions; sometimes with explosive joy and other times, with unnecessary apathy or anger. And an average below seven indicates that you tend to be unenthusiastic.
Support your self-assessment with the following profile of an enthusiastic person (described by Dr. Fox), as these are easy to recognize, because they walk renewed daily:
“You want all the good feelings, relationships and success you already have and more.
Exclaim that life is good, enjoyable and worth it, it is a blessing and a treasure.
He longs to continue living to the fullest, and hopes to share the joy with his loved ones.
You feel that you have achieved good things and hope to achieve more.
Find meaning and purpose in life.
Death is something that happens within a long time; It is a natural event that you do not have to worry about. And suicide? That’s something the enthusiast never thinks about.
Face life with joyful optimism and confidence, because it is a joyful pilgrimage through an exciting and sometimes surprising world; It is a journey that is most enjoyed when shared with others.
See love everywhere, waiting to be shared.
He is always waiting and has many things he can’t wait to do.
Where others curse, the enthusiastic person laughs. When others cry, the enthusiast finds joy. While others admit defeat, the enthusiast redoubles his efforts because he has confidence in his ability to succeed.”
Don’t worry if the profile above doesn’t describe you, well, let me tell you that it is possible to become enthusiastic; and simply and simply it is achieved by acting with enthusiasm. You will surely ask: how will I do it? Doctors Fox suggest it in the following way: “Assume the virtue of enthusiasm. Wrap them around your shoulders and hold them steady. Don’t worry if it’s uncomfortable at first like a borrowed coat. Assume virtue with faith and determination. You will soon feel more comfortable. […] So make it your business to be enthusiastic, no matter how good or bad life seems to you at that moment.”
Remember that to learn to swim you need to jump into the water. The same thing happens with enthusiasm, as David Joseph Schwartz, in his book The magic of thinking big, explains it: “To develop enthusiasm, the basic step is simple: Think enthusiastically..” You choose what to think: enthusiastic thoughts. See yourself with your mental eye, living a life with the joy of living, an energetic joy for life. Think of yourself as an enthusiastic person. Imagine yourself walking with a step of joy. Think about how good you will look and feel with a big smile on your face. Imagine loving life. Feel the energized enthusiasm in your body, mind and spirit.
It is scientifically proven that positive and enthusiastic thoughts cause the brain to produce endorphin, a hormone (or chemical substance) that drives positive emotions that allow us to feel affection, joy, tenderness, solidarity, commitment and love. For this reason, we must try not to cling to the sadness of the past or anticipate the anguish of the future; but rather to let go of unnecessary burdens and look forward with enthusiasm, hoping for good, sincerely believing that each day will bring you more good. With the following affirmation, shared by Doctors Fox, you will be able to light the flame of enthusiasm within you:
“I am full of enthusiasm. I have a big smile all day because I’m happy to be living my life. I feel very good because things are going the way I want. I am full of love for life and for others. Primarily, I am always happy, because my life is an infinite source of joy.”
Enthusiasm, the first of five cardinal virtues, as conceived by Dr. Fox, is the starting point to achieve a transformation in health, success and happiness. Fill your life with enthusiasm so that together we can contribute to building a better world.
By: Carlos Rafael Melo Freyle