Shifting focus

These past few days it's been rainy and dreary here. Those gray days can cause people to become depressed and I've found, if I'm not careful, I can fall into that trap easily. That's why I make sure to turn on more lights and find something to do to keep my mind busy. Instead of looking at those rainy days as bothersome or in a negative light, I'm trying to shift my focus so that I see things like that as blessings. My new motto for this year has become "Look for the positive in the negative." 

Adopting that motto hasn't been easy, in fact, it's been quite difficult. I've been dealing with a lot of health challenges this year and if I'm honest, there's been a lot of negativity with those. I have to choose to look for positive things each day. Doing that helps. If I didn't look for good things to focus on, I'd be a mess!

I'm thankful I have a strong faith. God has given me the strength to endure so much over the past 12 years. Without Him, I would never be able to find positivity in negative situations. 

There are so many old sayings that deal with the topic of positive vs. negative:  

"Look on the bright side"

"Every cloud has a silver lining" 

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. 

Why is it so easy to focus on the negative? I don't know, but I think it may have to do with the fact that we're weak humans. Some people are born with rose colored glasses on. I used to call myself a Pollyanna, but the older I get and the more aches and pains I have, I don't call myself that anymore. In fact, my rose colored glasses are currently sitting on a file cabinet in my office. As I type this, I can see them out of the corner of my eye. (Yes, I really do have a pair of rose colored glasses! I bought them so I could wear them on bleak days and remind myself to look for good things.) 

If you've never worn rose colored glasses, you should try it. Looking out through soft pink lenses changes your perspective drastically. I really like them and if I was brave enough, I'd have my prescription lenses tinted with pink so I could wear them every day. Maybe one day in the future, I'll do it! 

Something that's helped me is to keep a small gratitude list each day. At the end of the day, I try to find 3 things that were positive from the day. As I write them down, I also make sure to share them with a friend and she shares hers with me. It's become a wonderful way to end the day. 

Positivity is definitely more fun than negativity! If you're struggling, try doing the gratitude thing. At the end of your day, think about it. Were there 3 things that you enjoyed or felt had been small blessings? If so, write them down. Do this exercise for a month and see if it doesn't help you. I think it will.