It’s been difficult to stay positive recently, hasn’t it? We have good days and bad days. But recently you might feel stuck in a lot of bad days.
It was a struggle to stay positive last year.
You’re fresh off a year of not knowing what’s next. You watched plans get adjusted, rescheduled, and canceled. Many decisions were driven by fear. Planning far ahead wasn’t really possible.
But there’s been talk of hope.
You’ve seen it in Instagram posts, ads, and articles. Everyone’s talking about the light at the end of the tunnel.
Hope gives us the strength to persevere on. It’s the glimmer ahead that keeps us going.
What if you actually could feel optimistic about the future?
Is it now possible to set goals and feel good about whether they’re gonna happen or not? Summer is here, but is it wise to make plans and hope they’ll follow through?
It’s easier to have a negative view of things. But I want to help you have confidence in the future. I don’t want to live in fear and disappointment, and I’m sure you don’t want to either.
Let’s see how we can nurture optimism throughout the obstacles.
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
~ Helen Keller
I love the word OPTIMISM. To me, it encompasses wholeness, life, energy, and love.
But I’m sure you know it’s difficult to stay optimistic when life gets in the way.
Maybe you’re excited to start chasing a new career, but your significant other isn’t supporting your choice.
An obstacle might be a fear of yours.
You might have a dream to act on the stage, but you’re too afraid of failure to go to an audition. This fear is blocking any positivity in your mind.
Or maybe you’re so accustomed to cancelled plans that you feel there’s no point anymore.
Pessimism is in your brain telling you what to think. Let’s try to get this negativity out of there!
Look for ways to cultivate optimism and shut off those fearful thoughts.
Flip the lightswitch in your brain to block out negativity.
“But Kendell, I can’t control my mind!”
It takes work, but hey, you actually can. You’ll start with lots of effort and conscious decisions, but in time, you’ll be good at this.
When you hear fear and disappointment popping into your brain, how would it feel to flip the switch off?
Imagine going about your day, week, and life with your finger on that switch. When you feel a sense of dread, say, “Hey, what if I take control right now?”
Keep those negative thoughts out, and discover what becomes easier.
An optimistic mindset has health benefits.
Practicing mindful techniques and positivity strengthens your mind and body. Optimism has shown to help fight cancer. Isn’t that fascinating? We have our very own medicine to live our whole, healthy, best selves.1
So let’s pursue this positivity!
Here are several of my tips for exercising optimism daily.
Let go of expectations.
I must say I prefer to be pleasantly surprised than constantly disappointed. Don’t get carried away in your excitement, and choose optimism even when things aren’t going quite as you hoped.
Look for the good in the scenario you’re facing.
You might have mixed emotions about something. I, for one, don’t like flying. But I love to explore amazing destinations. When I’m feeling pessimistic about my flight, I remind myself of the reward at the end of my travels.
Look at your situation from a new perspective.
I’ve talked about trying this with my ferris wheel method. Write down a new way to approach a scenario on each spoke of the wheel. How many ideas do you come up with?
Stay hydrated.
Drink plenty of water every day. Your body needs to stay hydrated so you’ll have the boost to stay positive.
Rest, renew, and restore.
No one feels optimistic when they’re struggling to simply get up in the morning. Remember everything your mom used to pester you about to do for your health? She wasn’t wrong.
If you need a break, pause, and take one. Get enough sleep. A tired mind leads to irritability and impulsive decisions. It feels easier to spread negativity. Sleep helps you make better choices and control your emotions.2
Take time to meditate.
Meditation helps me shift to a healthier mindset. I find more control over the thoughts spinning through my brain. A gratitude journal helps with this too. I love this practice of writing down what I appreciate in life. It helps me start the day with a fresh mind.
And you have the ability to rewire your brain for a more positive mindset.
One way to do this is through cognitive restructuring. This is the process of recognizing patterns of negative thoughts, and reshaping those thoughts into positive ones.3 It takes time, practice, and partnering with a coach to work at this. But you can start today by examining your negative patterns of thought and how to shift them.
So what should you do with these tips for positivity?
Take what you’ve learned to shift your mindset this summer. Give yourself permission to be confident in your plans. When you feel discouraged, use your optimism tool to move forward.
Remember – at the end of the day, it’s all about the journey.
Aimee Mullins is a track athlete missing the lower half of her legs. She broke records during her first year of training, and she entered the 1996 Paralympics
. But to her dismay, she came in last during her 100-meter sprint.
At first, Aimee felt like a failure. She was mortified and disappointed. Did she train for nothing?
But in time, she realized: it’s all about the journey. She didn’t fail. Simply training and reaching the Paralympics was worth celebrating.
Aimee reminds others to recognize the progression of your journey and see it’s okay to feel discouraged sometimes.4
You’re not always going to find it easy to stay optimistic.
If you’re searching for a helping hand, reach out and chat with me.
Look back on how far you’ve grown and remember the journey.
You’ll get there.
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