Those who believe they can do something and
those who believe they can’t are both right.
Everyone has those days when you know it’s better to be upbeat and positive, but you’re just having a little trouble reaching that positive and productive state of mind. When you face challenges, and we all do, or feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities, and we all will every now and then, it can be very difficult to maintain a positive attitude.
Here are a few suggestions for ways to improve your mood and experience the inner peace you deserve:
1. Start your day with something positive. Decide each morning that you will start the day headed in the proper direction. Instead of waking up on the wrong side of the bed and setting the stage for a grouchy day, resolve to experience something positive first thing in the morning.
Routines help. Develop a morning routine that you can repeat daily to ease you into your day’s responsibilities. Determine which activities help improve your mood and put you on the path to positive thinking. Find two or three things you can do every morning that will set the stage for a successful day. As these become habits, add on to you routine little by little.
Establishing and keeping a routine will help your body and mind settle in and focus on what you need to accomplish. Instead of rushing around like a fool every morning or forgetting important details, your plan and routine will guide you through a peaceful set of steps that will keep your mind calm and focused and create unstoppable momentum.
2. Get excited about your goals again. If you wake up every morning with little or nothing to look forward to, your mind will likely quickly latch onto negative feelings that can last throughout your day. Give your life focus by setting goals that motivate and excite you. You know what’s next. That’s right… Write those goals down and review them every single day. Every day, make sure that you take some small action that brings you a little closer to attaining your goal.
Set aside a few minutes this week to write down all the reasons why each of your goals is important to you. How will you feel when you reach the goal you have set for yourself? How will your loved ones be affected? How will your quality of life improve?
Spend a few minutes every day reading through your list. A big enough “why” can help see you through almost any obstacles that are in your way.
3. Positive peeps. Surround yourself with positive people. If you want to feel better about your life, start hanging around people that encourage you and bring out the very best in you. Spend more time with people that make you feel good about yourself and increasingly less time with those that complain about everything or seem intent or dragging you down.
Every cloud has a silver lining and it is easier to find that silver lining when you hang with people that can help you to see it.
4. Life happens. Remember that bad days do happen. When you have a bad day, don’t beat yourself up or dwell on it or wallow around in self-pity. Remember that tomorrow is a brand new day with exciting possibilities and challenges. Your next victory is right around the corner if you resolve to start with your new day with a fresh perspective.
These suggestions will only help if you actually put them into practice. Pick one or two of them and decide that your own happiness is worth small changes that you can make in your life that will lead to a big payoff. Begin to experience the happiness you deserve by taking positive steps today that will lead to a bright future.
Thoughts?
Photo Credit: Pink Sherbet Photography via Compfight cc
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Martina,
You always offer such great advice! I love this – just get out of bed on the right side! Recently at my blog we talked about finding your solid ground and one person said she finds it before she even gets out of bed. What a great idea – like your #s 1 and 2. Its a conscious choice we need to make to have a good day!
Lori
Thanks Lori. It is a choice. And we all have bad days, and even a few terrible days, but they are made no better by staying down. The only real control we have over any situation is how we react to it. And how we react will set the tone for us to either move forward or stay stuck.
Thank you.
Amazing advice. I’m trying to get in the habit of setting a positive intention everyday. It could be something like – Today, I am going to be of service to my colleagues or I’m going to write a blog post that will help people communicate more effectively. It makes me feel good to do that and keeps my positivity up!
Thanks Michelle. Yes, finding the greater good and looking for some way to make a positive difference or impact in any situation will help lift us.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment,
Martina
I’m with Lori on this one, Martina! I love reading your post. They are always so inspiring. Life is certainly going to happen, even to the best of us, but we can’t allow a bad day to make the rest of our lives bad. Observe the good and the bad, alike — and be grateful for them just alike too. They all are for our good. I’ve come to believe that the bad ones have a little bit more to teach us than the good ones. Staying positive helps me to pay attention to the lesson that’s being taught. Radical post, my friend! Thanks for sharing it!
I agree with you Deone, there are lessons in everything and everyone that we encounter. We just have to make the time to look for it. I also agree that, at least for me, the bad experiences, although painful at the time, offered me the richest lesson, richest reward, and often the richest blessing. Sure, I carry some scars from a few of those lessons, but I can now look back, smile and carry on. Thanks for stopping by, my friend.
“When we know better, we do better. ” Maya Angelou
That can be a tough one.. for sure. Thanks
Yes, Sandy. Tough, but ultimately doable if we choose to do so.
Thanks.
I always try and start my day with something positive as I find that it helps me maintain the positiveness for the entire day!
I agree that we can set the tone for the day ourselves. This is one of the reasons I finally abandoned the a.m. news. I was watching it primarily for the weather, but then all of the other stories put a cloud over the morning. I stopped thep.m. news many years ago.
Thanks, “DoD.”
I like this article. Thank you for the reminder that our minds control much of our lives. When we think and act in a positive manner life just seems to work out better.
Thanks, Janeane. And even if it doesn’t work out great, our eyes, minds and hearts are open to the learning opportunity, meaning that we should still take something positive away from the experience.
Martina