How many times do we catch ourselves thinking thoughts such as: I’m so dumb, I just don’t have what it takes, I’m awful, I’m horrible…. And the list goes on. Have you ever wondered why? It’s interesting that our vocabulary has more negative adverbs than positive ones. From my experience, this is true for most languages. Perhaps it is our primitive brain trying to warn us and give the worst case scenario so we can protect ourselves. I observed from my practice that most of the time it is from unhealthy self esteem. So how do we switch from negative to positive? 

No, I don’t have a magic spell for it; instead it is a tedious exercise of concisely  trying to reprogram our though system. A realization that we have such though is already a start towards change. It is important not to personify with the negative adjective, for example I may have done something stupid, but that does not mean that I am stupid. They are two different things and so we need to see it as such.

How we see things brings me to my next point – Attitude. You may say, but right now I’m going through a horrible situation in my life, there is nothing good about it. Yes, there are times when we experience tough life circumstances and we need to see reality for what it is. Even in difficult situations or better yet mainly in difficulties our attitude plays an important role. Here we have a choice what perspective we want to adapt, through which less will we look. Positive attitude is connected with hope, optimism, courage, gratitude and kindness. 

Practicing daily at least one of these aspects will help us refocus our energy in a positive direction. A personal experience comes to mind, so I will share it with you:

I like to go for nature walks, it’s my way of clearing my mind and get inspired. Few times when I was walking I realized that I did not get such benefit from this exercise and I noticed it was because I was too deep in my own thoughts with focus on myself. Even my posture was bent and my gaze was downwards. I have pledged not to repeat this attitude of self over-analysis and such long engagement in my negative thoughts. 

Walks that followed were different, not because I did not have these  negative thoughts, but when I realized I’m seeing nothing else but my boots and the road I was walking on, I raised my head and looked up towards the top of the trees and the sky. It was like a revolution inside of me, this act of lifting up my head and focusing upward was so strong that tears streamed down my cheeks.  I was standing like this for few minutes as I was assured that there is someone much greater, more powerful and unconditionally loving who had me and everything I was going through in His loving arms. This simple act of lifting up my head and allowing myself to enjoy the blue sky with gratitude was enough and our loving Heavenly Father did the rest. I was filled with hope and I was encouraged that He is in charge – what a relief.

I often think of this experience in my daily tasks  and it keeps me „lifting up“ my head in gratitude which helps me shift my focus outside of my limited self. 

Perhaps, I will leave you with a challenge to make a conscious effort to start your day by lifting up your head and choosing an optical lens of gratitude or any one of these aspects: hope, optimism, courage, and kindness and tackle your day in a new way. Conclusion will be yours to write let me know how your day turns out. I’m curious to hear from you as your stories will inspire me and those around us.