Lately I’ve been taking some time to think of the different ways I discover the positive in every day. It’s something that’s been on my mind, and I really wanted to reflect on it, because ultimately those are the things I really want to focus on in my life, and those are the things I want to share with you in this blog.
What I realized is my discoveries sort of fall into different categories. Since I figured out some of them, I thought I’d share them with you in hopes that maybe it would inspire you to find some of the positive things in your everyday life.
Discovering the Positive
What am I thankful for? It doesn’t matter if it’s the start of my day, the end of my day or somewhere in the middle, if my attitude is starting to go south I take a moment to think of something, anything I’m thankful for. I know when I started doing this it could be a challenge, when the stress piles up it sometimes creates a fog and finding the positive and those things you’re thankful for are hard to see. If this happens to you, find one thing, anything, you are thankful for. For me, my husband is one of my quick go to thankfulness items. Even when I’m angry with him for some reason I can still see how lucky I am to have him and my world wouldn’t be as bright without him. Find something like that in your life, and then start building the list. Build it when you’re in a good mood, then it will be easier to access when you’re not having
What do I love to do? When I became a mom I made the mistake of letting that role take over my life. With that said, in the early years of motherhood, it is sometimes hard to be anything but a mother! A year or so ago I realized I’d forgotten things I love to do. There was one day I sat down with the kids out of the house, I didn’t have anything to do, and I had the afternoon to do anything I wanted to do. I had no clue what I liked to do anymore! I made it my own personal challenge to both get back into some of my old hobbies to see if I liked them still and I tried out some new hobbies. Who knew I’d learn that I loved to cook, not so much bake, but cooking is fantastic! I love geocaching, I love crocheting, I still love to do cross stitch. I miss reading and I’m slowly getting back into that one. I like scrapbooking, but wow it takes up a lot of space, and I really like to paint, but again, it takes some space where it won’t be disturbed by kids or pets, so I can’t do it as much as I’d like. Take some time to do what you love, surround yourself with those things, and try new things! Trying new things to build up my list of things I love was one of the best things I ever did!
Who makes me smile? Surround yourself with people you love and who treat you well. Find the people who make you smile, those who make you feel good about yourself, and who you genuinely adore being around. When I’m looking for something positive, these are the people I seek out to talk to, to hang out with, or just to think about how awesome they are and how lucky I am to have them in my life (I’m crossing over from that tip on thankfulness here).
Where do I find inspiration? I’ve been paying close attention to what inspires me for years, so I have some obvious ones I always go to and those things are music, bright colors and symbolic imagery. With that said, I’m also often inspired by the written word, but only on certain topics and I never know what’s going to inspire me. It often depends on what I’m looking for, in this case the positive. I love to read articles and blog posts focused on the positive and things that make other people smile, this is where I can find a lot of inspiration. I’m visually inspired often, so it’s no surprise that Pinterest and Instagram often inspire me.
Where do I witness kindness? It shouldn’t be surprising that reading about the random acts of kindness other people do that gains media attention always inspires me on things I can do for others. I also love to surround myself with a local group, the Secret Kindness Agents. Kindness also happens in my everyday life with the kindness directed toward me, something as small as someone smiling at me or holding the door, or even something bigger where someone might help me when I need it, even if I haven’t asked. Keep your eyes open and watch for the kindness in this world, it can be extremely inspirational and a great source of positive vibes.
What are the priorities in my life? I am no stranger to being overwhelmed. These are the times when I’m looking for a little bit of positive inspiration, and often that comes when I sit back and take an inventory of my current priorities. The thing about life is, it changes. Sometimes something that was a big priority is no longer a priority or drops down in the list over time. I used to do direct sales, last year I stopped after I realized it wasn’t a high priority in my life any more and I was spending too much time stressing over the business. Reassessing my priorities has done a wonderful job of bringing the positive back into my life.
What am I looking forward to today? Sometimes finding the positive is as simple as waking up and thinking about what I’m looking forward to for the day. It might be something big like going out with friends or family to a show or for a great night out. It may be something smaller like knowing my husband is cooking my favorite breakfast (swedish pancakes) or knowing I get to curl up and read with the kids. Find something to look forward to everyday and do your best to make sure that thing happens. You’ll be glad you did.
Is there a silver lining? I can’t write a post about finding the positive without acknowledging that we all have bad days. Sometimes we find ourselves in some pretty bad situations and it seems like the world is falling down around us. First of all, if you’re feeling bad enough, seek out help. Tell a friend, tell a family member, tell your doctor, tell someone. Get some help in whatever way you can. If you’re suicidal, please call the suicide hotline: 1 (800) 273-8255.
For other things that are bad, but maybe in a lesser degree, such as your car breaks down, you spill sauce on your shirt, you got in a fight with someone and everything just seems to be going downhill fast all in one day, seek out that silver lining. I know, I hate the cliche too, but for me, it works to think with that visual (remember, I like those visual symbols. If this one doesn’t work for you, find one that does work for you!) Sometimes finding the positive in a bad situation, and if there isn’t a positive to the situation, then find something else in your life that makes you happy. Do your best to find something positive to grasp on to. But as I mentioned before, if it’s getting bad, please please please tell someone.
This isn’t a complete list of every way I discover the positive, but this is a good start to what inspires me. I hope you’ll take this list as some inspiration and start discovering the positive in your life if you haven’t started already.
I shared some of the things that help me discover the positive in every day, I’d love to hear what helps you discover the positive? Please feel free to share your inspiration in the comments below.
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