Positively Positive.

We all go through different events in life every day that put us in a bad mood or that we let put us in a bad mood.  We then make the decision to dwell on this event or situation, and we all know that misery loves company so we bring others into it as well…

Unfortunately, we are all guilty of this.

Working full-time, going to school full-time, trying to maintain a relationship with my family members, my boyfriend and my cat while running a household definitely had me run down, worn out and negative. All. The. Time. It got to the point where I felt so miserable and burnt out I would annoy myself.

Then I realized….

I can’t control the things that I cannot change. Sure, I have heard it before. A million times actually. By my mom, my best friends, my sister-in-law-but I didn’t ever listen until it finally just clicked with me one day. I told myself, I can’t control the things I cannot change. (I am a control freak, so this is a pretty huge deal).

Then I asked myself, well, what can I control determine? And these five beautiful words came to mind:

I can determine my own happiness.

What? Really? Yes, and I was finally free. I finally realized,throughout anything I endure in my life, I can either let it sit with me and let it ruin my day, or I can turn the negative situation into a positive one. One of my very dear friend’s and I discussed this blog prior to me writing it and how we should consciously try to be more positive in our day-to-day lives. I was so proud of her when she called me one morning and she said to me:

“Hey..so I made me a nice cup of coffee before work this morning, then I managed to spill it all over myself AND my car.” Of course I replied with sympathy. But THEN, she continued with:

“But you know what I did? Got out of my car, went back in my house, and made me another cup of coffee. AND now my car smells delicious!”

See how well you can change a negative situation into a positive one? 🙂

I used to bicker and get frustrated with my boyfriend for silly things or if he accidentally broke something it was always the end of the world. But if you really think about it, what is getting in a bad mood and yelling out negative things going to do to resolve the situation? Nothing. That glass bowl from Wal-Mart broke dude, yelling isn’t going to make it magically put itself back together (Yes, I just talked about myself and called myself dude in third person). I have consciously been working on being more positive in each (rare nowadays) interaction with him and it has not only improved our relationship quite a bit, but it has helped him to be more positive as well.

Being positive to ourselves is good for our souls, too.

Our minds are SO powerful its epic. Women can literally trick their minds into being pregnant and literally have fake baby bumps, go to the doctor and see that they aren’t really pregnant! So if our minds can do something so powerful like that…just think what your mind can do with some positive self-talk and some meditation. It has taken me years to retrain my brain with positive thoughts instead of negative ones. On my drive to work every morning, I talk to myself and say “Dude, (here I go again) you rock. You are going to do awesome things today, and you are going to make a difference. Oh, and your eyeliner is perfect today (haha just kidding, maybe). But then I go into work super energetic and ready to do something great. Be kind to yourself. Your heart beats for you, it needs some loving too.

Another thing that has increased my positivity in life is to surround myself with optimistic, caring, FUNNY, and uplifting people. I am very lucky to have people in my family, my home, and at my work who make me laugh until I cry on a weekly basis. It is so cleansing and good for my health. So surround yourself with people who laugh. If you’re at home alone, watch a funny movie. Laughing is the perfect medicine for the mind, body and soul.

Side Note: I am also quite hilarious if I must say so myself. 😉 That is actually one of my hobbies is making people laugh. If I made someone laugh by the end of each day, I know I at least did something right that day and possible added a few more months to their life.

Life is too short to make the lemons in life turn you sour. Lemons are delicious, make some lemonade and smile. You are alive, you were put into this world for a purpose. Find your passion, do what you love, and love what you do. Smile, be a good human being. Connect with other human beings. Go call your grandma and tell her how amazing she is. Grab your friend’s hand and tell her how much you appreciate her, hug a stranger. You aren’t too busy to do these things. Make time for the things that matter and turn your life into a more positive one!

What did you think? Please leave your comments below!

xoxo,

Carissa