Disclaimer: This is what works for me. You can try this if it works for you. But if you are really feeling depressed and/or you think you can’t handle anything anymore, I highly suggest that you seek professional help, like see a psychiatrist or a counselor.
It’s hard to stay positive or look at the bright side of life when you are struggling and in pain. Add to that the negativity in the world you see or watch or hear on the news, on the internet, and even to the people around you. And if you let those negativities consume you, it will hinder you to find true happiness and success.
But how do you stay positive amidst all of those, especially if you are experiencing hardships in life?
Well, this is how I did it (and still doing it). But let me tell you first that I was not like this before, and it was a long process before I even achieved this positive outlook in life. I hope that with this article, it will help you reach it much sooner than I did. This is my advice and my experiences for you to have an example and give you ideas that you can try for yourself:
1. Meditation. I really suggest that you try and practice meditation because this is a huge part in achieving happiness and positivity. With meditation, you will learn patience and understanding, and you really need to apply them in your life. Meditation can help to clear your mind and organize your thoughts. You will be more aware of your feelings, emotions, and thoughts. You will learn to think first before you act, which helps in avoiding chaos and when you are making decisions.
2. Exercise. You don’t have to exercise hard, unless you are planning to achieve a certain body built, but light exercise would suffice as well. 30 minutes is actually preferable than the long one, because more than that is stress to your body already. Like meditation, exercising can also help you clear your mind and it’s just good for your mood and health at the same time, but also a great way to let off steam. Meditation and exercise were both recommended to me by my psychiatrist for treating depression, so it’s not just some habit that I picked up on. (But to be honest, I need to get back on exercising but it’s too hot right now to do so, maybe after this heat wave. Let’s exercise together!)
3. Write down your dreams and goals in life on a notebook or on anything, so that you can clearly see it. You can even make a vision board if you want. There’s a lot of tutorials that you can search on the internet on how to do this. From time to time, especially when you are feeling down and struggling, read your dreams and goals, and imagine that you already have them or that you already achieved them. This will remind you why you need to keep moving forward and fight through all the struggles that may come your way. Having something you can actually see will help you to really imagine them and it will feel more real at the same time.
4. Plan. If you have already written down your dreams and goals, try to plan it. We cannot just dream and wait for them to happen. We have to take actions. So, plan on how you will achieve those dreams. This will give structure to your life. And planning is like brain storming, and with that, you can be more creative about it and maybe discover more dreams.
5. Don’t dismiss your feelings. If you want to cry-cry; if you want to scream-scream; if you are sad, let yourself be sad. But you have to catch yourself; you have to only allot some time to feel those and let them all out, and then you need to take steps to move forward. This is where meditation comes into play. If you practice meditation, you will know how to do this. Sometimes we feel so much; sometimes these negative feelings consume our mind, body and soul. But if you know and practice meditation, you know how to not let those negative feelings consume you. Once you let out those feelings, tell yourself, “Okay, what are we going to do to move forward?” And analyze your situation. Sometimes we want something in life, and we ask ourselves and/or HIM, why you don’t have it yet. Sometimes we even doubt our value and our self-worth. Stop yourself and take a deep breath. Meditate. Analyze. Most of the time, what I do is I tell myself that maybe it’s not the right time yet, in which most of the time is true. But sometimes you will think and realize that there are some things that are not meant for you, no matter how much you want or dream them, and that too, you will learn to accept and make new ones.
6. Talk to someone. It’s very important that you don’t bottle up your emotions. This one I struggled with before and it caused a huge damage to me mentally and emotionally. Before, I felt like I would just be a burden to others, so I did everything by myself as much as possible. I was so afraid and shy to tell my problems and feelings to others, and it was so hard for me to ask for help. But in time, I learned that talking to someone about your feelings and/or problems will lift a huge weight off of your chest. And with this, you can get new perspectives and advices that might be very helpful to your current situation. Or it will just help you vent because sometimes we need that. You can talk to your friends, family, to your significant other, or even to your dog! But talking to a psychiatrist or a counselor is also something you need to consider because there are just some situations where you would need a professional help.
7. Find a hobby that makes you happy. Sometimes what we just need is something to distract ourselves with. This could be anything, like reading more books, photography, playing an instrument, etc.
8. Take a step back and relax. Sometimes we forget to do just that, especially if you are in a deadline or you are struggling with something. But we have to remember that this will only cause more stress to your mind and body. Stress is a silent killer, so we have to take care of ourselves. When I’m struggling with something and I catch myself being stressed about it, I take a step back and find time to myself to just relax and/or sleep. If you are in a deadline or just need to find a solution that very instant, just take an hour to relax for a while because no matter how hard you are thinking for a solution, if you are stressed you will never find one; and if you do find one it will not be the best one and could cause more damage. In relaxing, you can do meditation or just sleep. This will clear your mind and help you to regroup yourself, so you can think more clearly.
9. Play with your pet. This is optional since not everyone has pets, but if you do, play with them. When I play and pet my dog it just makes me happy and so in love with him! When you play or pet them, your mood will lift up greatly.
10. Pray. Pray for your dreams and always be grateful. Tell HIM all your problems, pain, and struggles; tell HIM your dreams and goals in life; tell HIM you are sorry for all the sins that you made and that you are grateful for everything. Praying could be a form of therapy, but also a reminder of all the blessings you have, small or big.
These are what I do to stay positive or at least make myself move forward in life and fight for my dreams. Again, this is what works for me. You can try them out, maybe some of it could help you, even just a little bit. Once you did, please let me know how it goes for you.
Do you do something to make yourself stay positive? Comment them down below, maybe you can help someone.
Love,
Kristine
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