Positive and negative mental states have a very strong influence on life.
For many people, 2020 has been one of the most challenging and stressful years they have experienced (myself included for sure).
Over the last 10 months, I have lost a best friend to cancer, my cousin took his own life, I battled my own mental health and suicide, been through a global pandemic, lived in isolation and gone through a separation!!
Throughout 2020, most of us will have had to re-budget, rethink, and remind ourselves that though this will not go on forever, some of these adjustments will be permanent.
Looking at this with a negative mindset will not change the situation and will certainly not make 2021 any better. Over the last 6 months, I have reinvented myself several times and used the challenging personal journey I have been on to get where I am today.
I want to use this blog to share my thought processes and actions over the last few months in the hope that it could positively affect the person reading. If one person reads this and thinks differently or gains a more positive outlook on a situation in the future, then that gives me huge satisfaction and adds value to the journey I have been on.
Below I have highlighted some of the changes I have introduced in my life over the last 6-9 months and discuss how they have positively affected me.
Start the day with a positive mindset
For the last 6 months, I have made my bed EVERY morning without fail. It helps me to start the day with a positive mindset. Maybe it’s a small accomplishment, but making your bed sets the tone for the entire day. It kickstarts a chain of other good decisions whilst providing me with a sense of taking charge. I leave my house feeling positive and with a strong sense of accomplishment. Your morning routine should include everything that makes YOU feel happy, healthy and motivated. Not what someone else tells you.
Exercise daily
This is extremely important. Not only am I making my physical health a priority, but I am also caring for my mental health as well. A lot of people think that exercise is all about losing weight or transforming your body in some way. That, however, is not always the case. A big part of the exercise for me is to simply make my health a priority in my life.
There are a ton of reasons why people exercise, but exercising does not have to only be for the physical benefits alone. You can exercise purely to improve your quality of life.
Think positive thoughts
Sounds easy, but this has been one of the most challenging aspects I have been through. The mind is such a powerful thing and it is important to practice manifesting great things for your life and use your mind’s own potential. The things you think influence your actions, which influences the kind of life experiences that you have. If you tend to only think negative thoughts, you may notice that you often feel unhappy or unfulfilled with your life choices.
The same goes for positive thoughts. If you think positively all the time, you may notice that you are very happy and satisfied with your life choices. Thinking positively helps me to manifest positive things in my life. I am also training myself to think positively more than I think negatively. This in turn could result in my positive thoughts manifesting themselves into more positive actions.
Exude positivity
For those people who have known me for a long time, they may agree that I can sometimes be a little miserable and grumpy. Radiating positivity is something that has been crucial for me over the last few months. Negative self-talk, putting myself down, and pessimistic thinking have negatively impacted my mental health and happiness. And for obvious reasons!
We all tend to be our biggest critics (I certainly am) and while that may help some of us become better versions of ourselves, the reality is that being hard on ourselves does nothing for our growth. Focusing on the negatives all the time, or the things that did not go right only draws attention to all the imperfect parts of my life. This allows for less time to focus on everything that is going right and to celebrate the things in my life that matter the most.
I started keeping a journal and writing 3 things that had gone positively in the day. I wrote examples of how I transformed a negative situation into a positive one. This helped me form habits and change the process in my head!!
Let go
Most problems are not as serious as they seem. I had to learn to let go of things that are not important in the long run. Here is a simple reality check exercise that I use on a regular basis:
‘If something will not matter a month from now, don’t even bother to stress about it’. Once I learned to let some issues slide, I soon realised these were not the real issues in the first place.
I have added and altered many aspects of my life over the last few months. Some have needed more work than others and some have taken longer to achieve than others. I am not looking back over 2020 and feeling sorry for myself, this is important. I am a firm believer in ‘everything happens for a reason’. The events we are going through and the actions we take create the person we become. These events give us the power to create meaning from them and start making life work for us rather than against us.
Believing in ‘everything happens for a reason’ empowers me to create meaning from the tragedies and setbacks I experience in life. Without the challenges I have been through over 2020, I may not be in the position I am today and be the best, happiest and most content version of myself I have ever been.
What is happening now may continue to dictate what we do with our lives and how to get there. In June, I decided to make a positive change in my life and acted on it. We all have the power to do the same! I can confidently say this is the best version of myself I’ve ever experienced and looking at life with a positive mindset even in these challenging times has been the biggest contributor. I will continue my journey and continue to reinvent myself to grow bigger and stronger than ever before.
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