I don’t know about you, but I have been the type of person that TRIES to look at the positive side of things. I attempt to focus on optimism instead of pessimism. But I’m going to tell you right now, I am so over being the ever ray of sunshine crossing your dreary path on a continual basis.
This mama had it up to “here” with the constant optimism and had hit the plateau of positivity.
After getting overwhelmed with my “Debbie Downer” attitude (I’m sure), one of my very good friends challenged me to #ThinkPositive. Yes, I know it’s not just THAT easy. You can’t just flip a switch and change a mindset. It’s a process. And I’m not going to say it’s an easy process. But, I will say, that it’s necessary. Especially during this time that we are in the midst of, uncertainty, separation from those we love, downright craziness.
I’ve been slowly changing my mindset. Believe me, this has been difficult. And I have failed, over and over. But the whole point is to keep moving forward and to keep trying day after day. In what has been a very terrible existence in the past couple of months for my family, we are looking to find something positive in every situation.
My children’s father has been in the hospital for a month, with another month still to go. The boys miss their father something fierce, and his health is still on a rollercoaster. How do you find the positives in that? How can I #ThinkPositive during this time?
Well, as my friend so lovingly prodded me to change my thinking, I’ve been working on incorporating this mindset into my day. I’m not going to lie… It is NOT easy. At all. You see, I’m working from home, had my work hours cut, had to pick up the homeschooling of my boys when their father went into the hospital, have my boys full-time now (I co-parent with their father 50/50), and my grocery budget has skyrocketed. These boys constantly eat! Jeesh!
But, in all of this, I have found that when I get to the #ThinkPositive mindset, things change. I know that my friend is going to ask me most days, “What are your three positives for the day?” Three, only three. That should be SO easy, right? OY! Somedays, it’s a stretch just to get ONE.
Let’s see:
1. My coffee tasted good
2. I had a hot shower
3. My makeup is great today.
Yes, I know those are pretty simple and not much of a positive spin on life. But believe me, when you start out small like that, with things that just seem like a given, you start to look deeper into things that are positive from your day. I think you will begin to see that we often overlook SO many positive aspects of our day or positive actions. We tend (or at least I know I do) to get dragged down by all the bad things happening in our life and in the world around us. The negatives are the first things we think of and the positives are just pushed to the side.
But with as crazy as everything is right now, we SHOULD be looking for the positives. This is one of the things that can get me through the day, each and every day. I’ve tried to incorporate this into my parenting and dealing with my children more. Yes, I should already be at that point, but I’m not. My parenting is far from perfect (just like you)! When I work on steering my children’s mindset to that of positivity, it automatically wears off on me and becomes more of a natural process.
Here are my three positives:
1. Work has been busy this week, so the long weekend came quicker.
2. I tried a new quick meal from Kroger and it was delicious, easy, and nutritious. Win!
3. My car got hit by a deer this week, but I’m ok and my car is still drivable.
So, think about your day. Push all the negative thoughts to the side, and tell me, what are your THREE positives for today? #ThinkPositive
