Tag: #positive thinking

A Different Type Of Holidays

by Ana-Alicia

As the covid cases continue to rise. It seems like the holidays will be a bit lonelier this year. My family has made the decision to cancel are Thanksgiving celebration. This is my favorite time of year to get with the family, eat some delicious foods. My favorites are my Aunt’s lasagna. I also enjoy some coquito, but our safety comes first.

I was a bit disappointed that I won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving with the family. I most likely won’t be for Christmas, or going anywhere for New Years as well, since I expect things will still be bad. I am sure many of you are in the same boat.

Although, it is a bit disappointing and disheartening. We got to do our best to keep our spirits up. I am now starting to get in the Christmas spirit. I usually wait, until after Thanksgiving, but since that day will just be a regular day for me. I am ready for the Christmas spirit. How I just love the ornaments, lights, music, and feel of Christmas, also the cookies and mint chocolates! You may not be able to spend time with loved ones, but there are still plenty of things to cheer about.

We must remember that safety is most important, and that you can always call, text, or video call your loved ones. Also, you don’t have to worry about the hassle of cooking a big meal, or traveling, so that can be a plus. The holidays will be different, but it doesn’t mean it has to be bad. Making the best out of it, and looking at the positives is important.

Life is always changing. Things don’t always stay the same. We got to learn to take on every challenge that comes our way, and do what it takes to make it work for us. How can you benefit from it? What are the positives? Learn, accept and keep moving. Do whatever you can to bring as much peace and happiness in your life. Things may seem bad, but it is in how you perceive it. Please stay safe out there everyone.

Positive Self-Talk

by Ana-Alicia

“Positive self talk isn’t about knowing all the answers or thinking you’re amazing, it’s simply about reframing how you view things, removing negative bias, and approaching life with the idea that you can tackle things – and even if it doesn’t go perfectly – you’ll learn from it for next time”(positivepsychology.com).

I was watching a video from this amazing vlogger Psychologist Julia Kristina Counselling (if you like motivational/self help videos, please look into her.). She mentioned something about positive self talk. I just wanted to post something about it, because I think it is very important what we say or think to ourselves. Having a more positive self-talk can allow us to be more compassionate, accepting, and appreciative of ourselves. It can allow you to learn and accept your flaws, rather than using it against yourself. It can allow you to be more confident, and more willing to take on challenges and accept failures. It can also allow you to push ourselves to success and to reach our goals.

In an article What is Positive Self-Talk? (Incl. Examples) by PositvePsychology.com. They mention some interesting things about negative and positive self talk that I like to put here for some perspective.

Negative Self-Talk

“Our patterns of self-talk are all too often negative – we focus on preconceived ideas that we’re ‘not good enough’ or ‘always a failure’ or ‘can’t do anything right’. Our brains are hardwired to remember negative experiences over positive ones, so we recall the times we didn’t quite get it right more than the times we do. We then replay these messages in our minds, fuelling negative feelings (Jantz, 2016).” Negative self-talk focuses on our flaws and weaknesses and doesn’t accept less than perfect results. Failures and mistakes are unacceptable. We beat ourselves down if it happens.

Positive Self-Talk

“Positive self-talk, as you may have guessed, is the flip of negative self-talk. It’s not about narcissism, or deceiving ourselves into thinking things that are inaccurate. It’s more about showing yourself some self-compassion and understanding for who you are and what you’ve been through (Jantz, 2019).”

“Positive self-talk sees our internal narrative switching to ideas like ‘I can do better next time’ or ‘I choose to learn from my mistakes, not be held back by them’.” Positive self-talk allows you to focus on the good qualities and strengths of oneself and learning to accept and be kind to yourself if mistakes or failure happens. It lifts you up and allows you to stand up against challenges.

Reminder that our thoughts are not based on facts, they are perceived. We tend to become what we think. If we see ourselves in a positive light we can gain much from this. We can build from it. We can become better individuals. We can learn to take on whatever challenges come our way. If you see yourself in a negative way. You can self sabotage, remain stuck, and never move forward and grow. There is no learning from this state. It is much easier being negative towards oneself, but easier isn’t always better for us, and our well being and happiness. Taking steps to have more positive thoughts about oneself can allow you to be the person you want to be, allow you to reach your goals, find success, have more happy days, rather than sad ones, move forward much quicker, and have peace of mind. You can’t really argue against that right?

Positive Self-Talk - The Pathway 2 Success

Source:https://positivepsychology.com/positive-self-talk/#:~:text=Positive%20self%2Dtalk%20isn’t,from%20it%20for%20next%20time.

Thoughts to end the Work Week

by Ana-Alicia

I always enjoy reading my mindful day book, before heading off to work. I thought this message was perfect for these times. It is easy to get caught up in the negativity storm out there. Just remember there is beauty out there. There are things to be positive about. Things may look grim now, but we can get through this with a calm and positive mind. It is easy to be filled with hate and anger, but change can only happen from a peaceful, calm and positive heart and mind. I know this is hard to practice, but try not to look into the worries of tomorrow. Try not to dwell on the sorrows of yesterday. Look into the wonders of today. You can only change what happens in the moment. The moment is your chance to grow, learn, challenge oneself, evolve, make change etc,. Struggles are lessons to overcome. Try to live each day as happily as one can. See the good, see the possibility, see the positivity. I know for some it is hard, I get it, I empathize. Just remember a negative mind and soul does nothing for your peace of mind and well-being. I wrote a bit more than I thought I would. I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Try to do something that invokes peace and happiness within yourself.

Choosing Your Perspective

by Ana-Alicia

This pretty much goes with the post I recently made. I have recently tested positive for Covid-19, and now in self-isolation. I am pretty much feeling fine now, had some mild symptoms earlier, but I continue to remain calm, peaceful, and positive.

I choose not to let fear, anger, blame, hatred, and negativity consume my being. There are three perspective paths you can take in life. The realistic, negative, or positive one. Reality is I got infected(most likely by someone at work). I now have to let my immune system do its job, but also rest, isolate, and eat healthy, and hope for a smooth recovery.

The negative path can lead to blaming others, myself, and the world. Creating fear within myself to never go out again. Hatred for others, and myself for getting in this situation. Asking why questions that solve nothing. Anger for having to be home, and not being able to exercise, and do nature walks outside. Getting anxious about my work situation, or the bills I will rack up from the hospital visit. All these thoughts can arise from negative thinking.

I choose to not fall down that path. It is a road to depression, self-hate, overall hate, and misery. I choose the positive path. To appreciate that I only gotten mild symptoms so far. This giving me the opportunity to relax, and be home. Giving me a chance to learn about myself, and work on myself. This time gives me a chance to do things I wanted to do.

Challenge myself to be creative, and learn to live a different lifestyle. This gives me the opportunity to read many books I want to read. This isolation has given me the opportunity to talk to many family members I haven’t spoken to in awhile, to catch up and connect with others. Overall, this challenge has shown me how much I have grown as a mindful individual, and how with a mindful heart I can remain positive and happy through it all. I can’t control what has happened, it has happened. Time to accept, and move forward.

Being negative has a negative effect on the body. Remaining positive can help boost your immune system, and help one recover much more smoothly. Your body needs to recover, so being mentally sound can be beneficial to the healing process. I can give into all the negativity surrounding this virus, but there are plenty of people who are able to recover, and get through this just fine. Now that I have it. I should now most likely have immunity to it, and that can be another plus to this. I no longer have much of a fear for it, since I now have it, and been through it. Can this situation be burdensome, yes, but there are, and will be plenty of other situations that will as well.

I just want you to know that you can’t control the circumstances around you, but you can control how you think and handle them. You can choose, which path of perspective you want to go down. Humans have the power of thought. We must use it wisely. Remember, stay safe, take care, stay compassionate, and stay mindful.

 

Getting Control of Your Emotions

by Ana-Alicia

It is time to put the power back on you. He/she annoyed me. He/she upset me. He/she stressed me out. The thing we as individuals don’t realize is that others don’t cause these emotions. It is us as individuals that allow them to do so. We give others, and life situations power over our emotions.

I tend to do this as well, but I decided I will try to limit blaming others and life situations for my negative emotions. I realize they come from me. The individual is the source of letting negative emotions pervade them. I will not think,he/she made me feel any type of negative emotion, no, I allowed them to create these feelings. Doing this gives me control of my emotions.

This isn’t about blaming yourself for having these feelings. It is all a part of being human. We will all feel these type of emotions. It is about learning that you as an individual have the power, and that creates strength, confidence, and character. We give too much power to others. When you tell yourself, I allowed another individual to create this negative energy me, it gives you the opportunity to learn, grow, evolve, and work on improving how you handle the situation in the future. It is not about blaming yourself, others, or life. It is about accepting the reality of the situation, and working towards improving how you cope with negative emotions in a constructive way.

Remember, you can’t change others, or how life works. The only thing you can do is change yourself, so it is better to work on how you as an individual deals with things. We focus too much on that person, or the situation. The focus should be on ourselves.

Doing this helps me move on from the situation much more quickly and smoothly. It allows me not to hold on to resentment, or anger. I can continue to live peacefully and happily. No one needs that type of negativity in their lives. I definitely don’t. That is why I try not to give power over my emotions to others. This is something I control. This is something I can work on. I have the power. Giving yourself that power is a wonderful tool to create peace, and positivity in your life.

Remember when dealing with negative emotions, take deep breaths, try not to react, try not to place blame, just let it be, and the reality of the situation, and acceptance will shine through.

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Chasing Happiness

by Ana-Alicia

We find ourselves chasing happiness. Not realizing it is right in front of us. The only way to find true happiness is within ourselves. It is about acceptance, appreciation and gratitude of who we are and what we have.

Trying to find happiness through external sources(success, life dreams, money, objects) will just lead to stress, anger, frustration, jealousy among other negative emotions. You try to seek happiness, but end up seeking sadness instead, because expectations are trying to be met.

Happiness isn’t something to obtain. It is always there, just like all other emotions. You never seek sadness, but it finds its way to appear. Happiness can also appear once you find peace within yourself and life. You just have to learn to appreciate the things around you, and be content with how things are.

Happiness isn’t static. It shouldn’t be the main goal. Like all emotions, it comes and goes. There will be times you won’t be happy, and that is okay. Don’t beat yourself up for not being happy. It just ends up making you feel worse.

In the end, happiness isn’t something to seek, it is just there. You just have to learn how to allow it into your life. There is no need to search for it.Awareness, appreciation, satisfaction, understanding, acceptance, and positive thinking all can contribute to happiness.

Nordic nations seem to have the formula correct. They are consistently listed as the happiest countries. Why? Because of their satisfaction of the simple things in life. They aren’t the richest. They aren’t particularly career driven. They don’t seek money, and they aren’t materialistic. They just want to live their lives, enjoying the beauty and experiences of the world. They live life in a comfortable environment as freely as they can making connections with the people around them. It seems this is the right formula to ensure happiness. This can create a longer lasting happy mindset, rather than the short-term happiness from external sources.

 

 

Be Appreciative. Be Positive. Live A Happy Life

by Ana-Alicia

I wanted to write this post to share my new mindset of being positive and appreciative. I should make this one of my goals for 2020. I kind of started to do this last year, along my journey with mindfulness. I really like to practice this a bit more this year.

I think this is a great mindset to have. It has made me a much more happy and content person. I like to focus my energy on the positive, and be appreciative of life. I don’t want to be consumed by negativity. I see myself being more at peace, calm, and happy now that I decided to see the bright side of life. I am in control of how I perceive things. I can either choose to be angry, bitter, sad, or miserable, or I can choose to be joyful, appreciative, calm and happy. I choose the latter. We should all choose that path if we want a satisfying and peaceful life. I want to focus my energy on positivity.

I have gotten a mindfulness book this Christmas. There are many wonderful exercises I can do to be mindful. It had me do a lovely exercise of dish washing, but it allowed me to be appreciative of the task, and focus my energy on the moment of the task. How the water felt, how my hands felt,etc. It allowed me to appreciate that I can walk, and use my hands to do the task. I also appreciate that I have clean water, and cleaning supplies to do so as well. It made me see this tedious task in a different light. It made me appreciate it more. If you can learn to appreciate simple tasks like that. It makes you much more appreciative of the whole scheme of things. It makes you appreciate life more.

Work has been difficult at times. I have been exhausted from all the work we have, and overworking myself. I can choose to focus on the disorganization, or the fact that they need more workers, or the fact that I am exhausted from the work and overtime.

But I choose to put my energy on the benefits of having the job. Money to get the things I want, and to experience the things I like. Health benefits that have been useful to me recently, especially Dental. Also, the lovely paycheck I will get from Overtime to help pay off cards and loans I need to pay off. Also, the lovely coworkers I have. That make work a bit more enjoyable. I actually do like my job, but it can be overwhelming at times. I also decided not to overwork myself as much to get things done quicker. I will do what I can, but nothing more. I shouldn’t give more, than everyone else. I tried that practice out Friday, and it made work much more easier and enjoyable. I felt much better.

In the end, it is the choice of the individual how we choose to perceive things. Either we focus on the good or the bad. Either we choose to be miserable or content. It is up to you. I chose happiness and peace of mind. Now I mentioned happiness isn’t stable, but with this mindset you will have a happier mindset. There will be more happiness, rather than sadness. You can be able to enjoy life much more.

I always try to remind myself, why be sad, when you can be happy. Who needs to be negative. When you can be positive. There is enough negativity in the world. I want to spread positivity. Grant it, we will get sad, that is life, but if I can control more happiness in my life. I will do that as much as possible. Always choose happiness over misery when you can. Life will have its bumps. Life will have its struggles. We just got to learn to combat it with positivity and appreciation, and the coping process will become much smoother.

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Embrace Getting Older

by Ana-Alicia

I have now turned a year older, so I thought this would be an appropriate post to write. Most do not like this concept. It just means we are closer to death. Time is passing. The clock is ticking. I have so many things I need to do. I haven’t been able to achieve the things I wanted by this time. These things go through the heads of most people who dread getting older. We live in a society that shuns getting older. We think our lives are over by a certain age, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

I have come to terms with getting older. I no longer feel shame, or sadness about turning a year older. I have learned to be proud of my age. Maybe it is the fact that my 30’s have been the best years of my life physically, mentally, and emotionally. This can all be because of practicing mindfulness. I say you are as old and young as the mind feels.

If you are living in the moment. Getting out there, and doing the things you love to do, experiencing life. Working towards your goals. You can feel as young as you need to be. I think mindfulness has allowed me to embrace getting older, because I learned to accept what is. Getting older will happen, if you like it, or not. It is better to embrace it, and learn to see the positives of it, than to create a mindset of sadness and negativity.

I like to remind myself that not everyone gets a chance to live to their 30’s and up. You hear people say, ‘he/she died so young,’ and feel so much sadness. Yes, it is sad. This is why you should be proud to reach an new age. You made it another year. You got the opportunity to live a year longer. You got to see this from this perspective. We feel sad when people die young, but feel sad when we get older. It is quite a juxtaposition. I say be proud that you have lived to feel old. Not everyone gets that chance. It is something you should be proud of in this unpredictable world.

The problem is people focus on the past. They have regrets, or missing what was. They look back on their youth, and think about the ‘good times.’ The past is the past. You can’t go back. You can’t change it. The things you can do is embrace it. Be happy  that you had the experiences you had in the past. Try not to look back with regrets, but with fond memories.  Focus on today, and enjoy your life now. so you don’t have regrets on your death bed. Put energy into your physical and mental health, so you are as energetic and vibrant at an older age. I see people in their 60’s thinking their lives are over, and it doesn’t have to be that way. You can still do things, and live a fulfilling life at that age.

Getting older shouldn’t make us sad. It should make us proud. Living a long, and fulfilling life should be a goal to everyone. Embrace the years that you are able to have. You have the opportunity to right wrongs. To work on your mistakes. To experience new things. To live life the best way you can. This can all happen by having the opportunity to get older.

I am in my 30’s. In no way is that old, but when I reach my 60’s and up. I like to feel as good as I can be at that age. I try to eat healthy, and exercise, because I want to live a fulfilling life as long as I can. Life is unpredictable, but I do have some control over things, so I will do what I can. You are only as old, as you think you are. You have control of what you think.

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Focus on the Journey,Not the Destination

by Ana-Alicia

Whatever goal you like to achieve in life.It is a good idea to keep your thoughts away from the end goal. Try to enjoy the journey.

We don’t know the future. We put this idea in our minds that happiness, or the life we dream of will come out of it. The thing is you don’t know if anything will come out of it. Its the future, it is unpredictable.

What you do know is what is going on in the present moment. We should try to embrace the moments in the now. You are in the now. The focus should be on the journey, the steps you are taking to achieve your goal/goals.

Be proud of the steps you are taking to achieve your goal. Be proud that you are taking the steps to achieve your goals. Not many do so. If you are not able to enjoy the journey. You will most likely not be able to appreciate the destination. Happiness can not be obtained this way.

Try not to focus on how long it is taking. We all have our own timetable. Just see it as time to learn, and grow as an individual. We all like to grow, and develop as individuals. This is your time, embrace it.

Rushing through life will not bring happiness. How can one enjoy life rushing, and focusing on the destination? How can one truly live like that? Life is short, try to enjoy the ride. You will get there eventually, or you may not. Either way, you were able to enjoy the journey. It was a learning experience. You were able to do something new, and challenging. That is the wonderful thing about life.

Try to focus on the present. The present is where you live, where things happen. The future is an illusion. A life created by your thoughts can lead to negative emotions. I know, I entertain them at times. You just have to try to remind yourself that what you are doing now is what is most important.

We as human beings always want to grow, so reaching your destination isn’t always the greatest. It just means we will search for another destination. This is why happiness, or the life you dreamed of does not cultivate from your destination. Remember that happiness comes from within.

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