Think Positive! :)

The last year was a very challenging year for me. The funny thing is I've grown the most during this time! And that's something I'd like to "talk" about today; it's all about how we look at the world that defines us. Our life is a reflection of our attitude and when not paying attention it can easily turn into this dark and scary place, but luckily the opposite is true as well!

These are some of the things that helped me through some dark days:

Looking at the glass half full instead of half empty can be quite challenging at times but even just trying to do so helps us gain perspective. It'd like to think there's always a lesson to be learned, and it's your attitude towards it that'll rather make it sooner than later.

What helped me see things from a broader perspective as well is meditation. I used to think it was something only hippies did, but then I ran into scientific research and it talked about the wide range of benefits, going from better stress management, to having a better immune system and being able to focus better (and even sleep better!). Even just focusing on your breath for for 30 seconds, and being fully present several times a day can help quite some! I build up from 2 meditation sessions a day of an app called Buddhify (of about 10 min each) to a daily practice of 30 - 60min, depending on my mental state.

Another thing is to focus on your circle of influence instead of your circle of concern. Focusing on things you can't change, will only put you down and drain your energy. Focus on taking responsibility for the things you can change and take action in these areas.

The same goes for people. Focus your energy on the ones that also care about you and not only approach you when they need something. I had a friend I had to let go. She was one of those people who would only take. She was a very selfish person with no integrity whatsoever. There was zero loyalty and trust. Funnily these are the things I look for in a friendship lol! It's the first person in my life I actually really gave up on, and honestly I became a happier person ever since. I met new amazing and caring people and now I have more time to spend with them. It's also quite the relieve to not have to be worried on what toxic behavior would surface every time there are interactions!

A very challenging one was, thinking in solutions instead of thinking in problems! I always had the tendency to try and be prepared for all the things that could go wrong. It somehow gave me a false feeling of control and safety. Nothing is less true though, as always being worried about everything that can go wrong will prevent you from joy in your life, as it puts you in a very negative mindset.

Regularly reflecting on all the good things you do have in your life can also help a lot! We tend to focus on the things that don't meet our expectations but what about all these amazing things we have day in day out! The wonderful people in our environment, the tasty food, the ability to use high quality water whenever we want without having to walk for hours,....

Either way these are some things that have helped me a lot the last year and I hope it helps you a little bit as well! Let me know if there are other things that have impacted your life a lot or which one(s) of these helped you! <3

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Here are some other posts you might like!

1)How to stop taking things personally: https://steemit.com/psychology/@athenajade/stop-taking-things-personally
2)On asking favors: https://steemit.com/steemit/@athenajade/let-s-spread-that-steemit-love
3)How I got off my couch and started to run: https://steemit.com/health/@athenajade/couch-to-5k
4)On how language influences us: https://steemit.com/psychology/@athenajade/do-we-speak-the-same-language
5)On absolute truths: https://steemit.com/psychology/@athenajade/debate-1-is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-absolute-universal-truth
6)On the limitations our conditioning puts upon us: https://steemit.com/life/@athenajade/this-inner-cage-called-conditioning
7)On growing our own potential: https://steemit.com/life/@athenajade/whatever-you-are-doing-you-are-getting-better-at-it
8)Relax! https://steemit.com/psychology/@athenajade/don-t-forget-to-relax-my-dear-steemians