By Lea Aunins, LMSW
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could experience every encounter in our lives as positive? This may seem impossible, but I believe we can significantly change our experiences by changing our focus.
I recently ended one of my workdays feeling exhausted and frustrated with several of the encounters I had had that day. As I was recounting the events of the day to my family that evening, I realized that the challenges of my day hadn’t been any different from other days, but rather my perspective had changed due to some temporary life stressors and lack of sleep.
I had been viewing the events of my day through a negative lens that significantly impacted how I experienced and reacted to those events. This awareness allowed me to re-set that perspective, explore all of the positives from my day, and repair any damage I may have done as a result of my negative reactions.
We know that when you have a positive perspective, your health will improve – through reduced stress, as well as strengthened relationships and reduced negative effects of conflict. Our perspective is powerful and significantly affects our thoughts, feelings, and emotions, eventually becoming our reality.
To help you improve your health and wellness, we recommend the following ways to keep your perspective positive:
- Practice trust and optimism. Believe everything happens for a reason and look for new opportunities in challenging situations.
- Stay supportive. Encourage others, and ourselves, with words of kindness, gratitude, and love. This creates confidence and the power to be better.
- Choose faith over fear. Both relate to a future that hasn’t happened yet, and we can choose how we want to perceive that future.
- Smile and laugh. Both are contagious, and the more we incorporate them into our lives, the more we, and others, will benefit.
- Use a “Get to” vs. “Have to” mindset. This simple re-frame can change our perception of a previously dreaded task.
- Be solution focused. When problems present themselves, focus on how to solve them rather than focusing on all of the negative ways the problem has impacted you.
- Celebrate successes. When you’ve achieved your goals, take a moment and recognize your success – whether it’s your own and/or those of others around you.
Turn to our experts and start thriving today.
