November 11, 2014
Alexia Isaak
Life is hard, right? It’s not fair, and it doesn’t always go the way you think it should. Bad things happen to good people, and people unfortunately get sick. With all the uncomfortable things out there, how can we get along, and make a difference? How can we Keep a good attitude when the going get’s rough?
It’s not easy, and I’m not perfect at it. One thing I do know is that I’m trying every day to be self-aware of my decisions to choose a positive or negative reaction to things that happen in a day. I have met positive people and even asked, how they keep such a great outlook on life. I ask how did you develop the ability to choose positive and take the positive path? I’ll share with you some things I’ve learned about positive thinking.
As Rhonda Shasteen, my mentor, taught, you can control your thoughts, so each of us has the ability to achieve self-improvement and change our thought compass to point positively. The only questions that remains is, do you want to choose the positive path?
Here are a few tips to help on the path of self-awareness to choosing positivity.
1. Engage positive self-talk. One thing I have been practicing, cheesy as it may be, is to to say aloud to myself each day, “This can be a good day!” Just saying it helps create a sounding board for my thoughts and actions the rest of the day.
2. Try to understand and make peace with bad things that happen in your life. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the bad things. Sometimes they’re just a test of endurance, and they always build character in you. When I had emergency brain surgery almost 10 years ago, not one second of it was fun. It was the most trying experience of my live that lasted a solid two years. Looking back now, I wouldn’t exchange what I learned and how I changed as a result. There are a couple of books out there that address why bad things happen to good people. 1) When Bad Things Happen to Good People by harold S. Kushner and 2) Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People by David Arnold.
3. Raise a Red Flag. If you put this thought in the back of your head, you’ll be surprised how often you’ll catch yourself thinking negative. A negative thought can trigger the flag to go up, and you can choose to adjust your perspective.
4. Surround yourself with good energy and positive people. There are so many exhausting people out there who suck the energy and life out of you. That is why it’s important to have an inner circle of friends who are positive. It should be a group that supports and uplifts each other rather than tearing each other down with negativity and unnecessary drama.
Those are a few tips that have helped me on a journey to staying positive. What do you do to choose the positive path?