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I used to be a negative Nancy (nothing against Nancy) but that girl has left the building and these days I have been a positive Polly! (Pa la la la Polly!) There are a lot of things going on right now in our world and our mindset plays a big part in how we handle things. I must admit I have been doing a lot of learning about myself these past few months so I have not felt called to blog but today something was sparked within me. Earlier today I was having a conversation with my coworkers and one part just stuck with me. He said, “I agree Lisette we have to stay positive, it can be hard but we have to.” These were true words, especially with all that is going on but I just thought to myself. Why is it hard for us to stay positive? What is it that makes us lose faith or give up hope when we have so much to be grateful for and look forward to? I have learned that it is not hard to be positive. It truly takes one time and then another and you just continue to build while adjusting your perspective. So, how come so many of us can not seem to jump over that hurdle? We seem to allow ourselves to drown in our negativity and then wonder why things are occurring as they are in our lives. Well, today I want to share my perspective on the top three ways that have helped me to be more positive through my journey of self-growth. Because when I say I used to be a negative Nancy I mean it was serious! I always looked at the worst outcome of every situation but I thought I was being “realistic” but I finally realized those around me were correct… I was being pessimistic. Talk about a slap to the face! Anyways, I hope these three things I used to help promote positivity in my life will inspire someone so here we go!
#1 – GRATITUDE Now depending on your situation, we are all told that we need to be thankful but how often do we truly practice it. I didn’t realize how important this one was until October of last year. I finally decided to get a notebook and make my gratitude list. I did not truly realize how much I had to be grateful until I wrote it down. I mean there were so many things to write about. I never really took a pause and evaluated all the amazing people and things I had in my life. Let alone show gratitude for them on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Normally, I would just be busy doing my day to day routine and not even think of things that I have that I am truly fortunate to have. So, when I say gratitude is number one for positive thinking, I truly mean it! Even if you think that it is too hard and you don’t have anything to be grateful for… well my friend that is just a lie. We can all at least name one thing we are grateful for within our lives. To help out I have listed the things I put on my first gratitude list. 1. I am grateful for waking up this morning. 2. I am grateful for the apartment that I live in. 3. I am grateful for living in San Diego. 4. I am grateful for my boyfriend. 5. I am grateful for my sister. 6. I am grateful for my dog. 7. I am grateful for my car. 8. I am grateful for life. This was my first gratitude list and it was amazing to write. Nothing fancy as it was extremely simple and I just continued to build more and more in detail every day I journaled. When you write out the things you are grateful for it is an awesome experience. It made me smile as I was re-typing my list. I just bathed in the gratitude vibes with a big fat smile on my face and so can you. Now I will be honest, I have not gotten to the point where I write in my gratitude journal every single morning but I try my best. In time I know I will get there but I am gentle with myself until then. So, if you have not written a list of gratitude out and you want to help bring positive energy in, you should try it out!
#2 – Positive Affirmations Alright, so this second one is one that I just started using the past couple of months. It has generously helped me with keeping a positive mindset. Positive affirmations are truly powerful. Even if you don’t believe the affirmation you are saying at first fully as long as you keep with it and try to feel like it is true a little bit more each time it will do wonders! For me, I had been dealing with a lot of anger and impatience with myself and others towards the end of last year. I was doing a lot of observing of the thoughts I would have throughout my day. Especially, when someone would speak to me I would try and not respond out loud so quickly and listen to my internal response. Half the time the response I had was so quick and snappy even if I would not be feeling that way. It was like it was a programmed response so I started to say positive affirmations throughout my day for bad habits and mindsets that I no longer wanted to hold. The most important thing that helped me though was if I noticed my response to someone or myself was not kind. Right after it occurred I would say the positive affirmation I was working with that day, week, or even that month. Below are a few simple positive affirmations that came in handy for me. 1. I am patient, loving, and caring towards others. 2. I am a being that is connected to all that is. 3. I am connecting to my higher self. 4. I am operating from my heart space with compassion and love for all. 5. I am living my best life. So, if you have not tried positive affirmations before, I do not think it hurts to take a few minutes to find a few that resonate with you. Then go say them loud and proud! ☺️
#3 – Friends and Family I was debating on if this one should go first or not but I don’t think the order truly matters just the message as a whole. For me, it has been a long process to get myself to understand that my family and friends are always there for me and I am not alone. I was that person that would let the weight of the world just lie on their shoulders and keep things bottled up. That wasn’t healthy and I would not want to see anyone doing that. Even if we don’t think we have anyone to talk to, there is one person out there in the world that is willing to listen. Even if they are a stranger and I truly believe that. With that being said our friends and family do truly know us best and they can help us in our growth in so many ways. For me, I found that listening to what the people closest to me had to say about me helped a lot. Two of the most important people in my life are my sister and my boyfriend. They both pointed out that when they talk to me they feel like they have to filter themselves so much because they never knew how I would react. When each of them in their way and time told me that… it broke my heart. I love them both so much and I would never want them to feel like they can not fully express themselves because they were so concerned with my reaction and what it would trigger within me. By pointing this out it helped me learn how to pay more attention in regards to my responses and my moods. It has drastically helped me grow towards a more positive mindset and truly is an important thing. So, please do ask questions about yourself of what others observe of you and then begin to observe yourself. Sometimes we need that different perspective to see what it is that we truly need to work on and change to live the life we want to be living.
I hope you enjoyed my top three things to do to help promote positivity in your life. If you did enjoy be sure to like and please do leave a comment below with any suggestions or techniques you have or use to stay positive within your life!
Thank you for sharing space with me and have a wonderful day!
-Settexoxo