10 Realistic Ways to Stay Positive Part 9

Life is for the most part a series of little steps, when we actually want to leap. As I was writing this someone said—“Like clean a room instead of the whole house”. I was thinking more like cleaning one counter top.  There are moments when one room is too overwhelming. 

 

 The smaller you break down the steps the more manageable it becomes to deal with.

10 Realistic Ways to Stay Positive - Part 8

Don’t be paralyzed by perfection. I grew up in a family that has OCD and was drilled from a very young age that if you couldn’t do it perfectly --don’t do it all.

It was my freshman college roommate who began to point this out to me. She would get up and make her bed before she even went to the bathroom. This was just as comforters began to be popular. She was a very neat person, but made her bed by pulling up the sheets and pulling the comforter over them. She pointed out that one of the reasons I hated to make my bed was it took 15 minutes. I pulled down the top sheets, smoothed out the bottom sheet, pulled the top sheet perfectly to the top edge…and the whole process ended with the bedspread the exact same amount from the floor the whole length of the bed.  It really did take 15 minutes.  It was the beginning of learning not everything had to be perfect. 

 I still am a little nuts about how I make the bed, but have made great strides in changing how I approached things----and it is amazing how much more I get done. A day with my family members reminds me how far I have come!

10 Reallistic Ways to Stay Positive - Part 7

I will probably never be a person who does yoga or meditates in the morning. I did learn however to do something that helped me start the day in a better place.
I love to read and I started keeping a stack of “positive books” where I have my morning tea. Some I have read a million times, but they always make me move to a good place. Some I just open and read a page---I believe it opens to where I need it to be. Some I read “as a book”. It doesn’t matter what you read as long as it gives you that morning lift. And if you only have 5 minutes…it works. If you can steal a ½ hour even better.

10 Reallistic Ways to Stay Positive - Part 6

See the great things that happen every day. This takes making it a habit to get through the really bad days.
I learned this one day when I had gone through a year of stress and grief. I was driving along and suddenly saw the October sun on the great field of pumpkins---and I feel my whole self just shift to a better place. After that I decided to jot down every night three things that were positive that happened that day.
I know some people journal---I am a bullet point person. They were only for me so they did not have to make sense except at the moment I was reflecting back on that day. Some days I would think I would not even find one. I would think of some stranger who gave me a smile, the way I saw an animal play or some phenomenal chocolate I had that day---and I would remember that every days there are seconds of "great" even if we would prefer minutes or longer.

10 Realistic Ways to Stay Positive - Part 5

Listen to music you like---on your MP3, your sound system, in the car ---whatever.

And blast it….at least for a few minutes.

Move to it---dance, tap your toes, wave your hands --whatever works for you. Sometimes I will go a long time without listening to music because I am so busy “thinking” about what has to be done, I forget to turn it on. Suddenly I will be around music and sense my mood shift immediately.

10 Realistic Ways to Stay Positive - Part 3

Do something physical to vent your frustration.

If you are not the exercise type I have found that chopping vegetables
(careful with the knife!), crushing bread crumbs or some equivalent, or one of my favorites--- throwing glass bottles in the big recycling bins (not good if you have curbside pick up) somehow helps.

10 Realistic Ways to Stay Positive - Part 2

Action is a great way to get back on track.

Sometimes you feel like your whole life has been hijacked by other people.
Even if you want to start ---you do not know where to.

If you have never made a list in your life, write down two things (no more) to do. If you have
been a list maker all your life, do not write your usual 15 item list---only two for you also. (Maye even MORE important for you chronic list makers!)

If you are really overwhelmed start small---like putting the dishes away. Don’t start with “World Peace”, but two very small, almost non-thinking types of things.

Do one, cross it off. You will have more energy to do the second. If you can do
more after the two, put two more on the list. Repeat. Every time you get
something done you will feel stronger, better and yep---more positive.

10 Realistic Ways to Stay Positive - Part 1

Cut yourself some slack.

Don’t beat yourself up and think “People have it much worse than me---I do not have the right to feel this way”. Some days life is just wrong in all ways. It’s ok to think and feel that, but then accept you still have to deal with it.