“Everything you are against weakens you. Everything you are for empowers you.“—Dr. Wayne Dyer

There was a time in my life when I would not allow myself to indulge in anything that was popular or trendy. If that many people thought it was cool, it must be “stupid.” It’s a popular philosophy among teens and young adults, and many of us carry it with us all throughout our lives.

I dubbed this the Lisa Simpson Effect a few years ago after watching several episodes of the popular Fox animated sitcom, The Simpsons, based on Lisa’s constant nagging. It seemed like it was impossible for Lisa Simpson to like anything, and I started to wonder on a philosophical level how many things Lisa was missing out on in life because she would never let herself try them.

Eventually, I turned this in on myself, and realized there were a lot of things in my own life I never let myself enjoy because they were popular or trendy. Television shows, music, books, activities… it was a laundry list of denial that fueled a sense of self-loathing and misery I no longer wanted to indulge in.

So I started watching a popular television show I’d denied myself based on the fact that everyone else liked it. The result? I enjoyed myself, and wondered if the same would happen if I checked out that band everyone else liked, and that movie they were all raving about.

It sounds material and silly when you first look at it, but I’m thinking of this in terms of putting negative energy into something and zapping yourself of energy with denial. Like Dr. Dyer said, “Everything you are against weakens you,” and I believe it’s because of the amount of negative thought and energy we put into denial.

It’s like smiling, in the end. They say it takes the use of more facial muscles to frown than it does to smile, which makes sense when you compare them. It takes less energy to enjoy something than it does to frown on it, so get out there and start enjoying the things you’ve denied yourself in the past. You never know what you might discover and how it might impact and change your life.

(Image via fanpop)