PicoBlog

Always remember to be grateful. Even when it feels like your world is crumbling so hard… I can bet that if you search your heart and your mind long enough, you will find something (or several things) to be grateful for. They may be small (Ex: the sun was shining today, at least I have toilet paper, I have cleaning drinking water, etc), but they are important. Without them, we can easily fall into victim mode where we quickly lose perspective and get sucked into the tunnel of negativity. It’s ok to be mad. It’s ok to be sad, disappointed, frustrated. Those are likely very acceptable reactions to things not going our way. But when we lose sight of gratitude, then we’ve really lost the battle. Remember, every time something negative happens we often highlight it, magnify it, and let it overshadow all the good things that may have happened along the way. This is essentially considered a type of cognitive distortion… and it’s unhelpful for mental health. So, try to really put things into perspective and ask yourself: what do I have that I can still be grateful for today? Then focus your energy in that direction.

Perpetually ask yourself, “What is the lesson this experience is teaching me?” If nothing else, the experiences that seem like total crap in a basket can oftentimes be some of our greatest teachers… if we are willing to open up & listen. Sometimes this takes great discipline. It means relinquishing our battle for life to have dealt us different cards. It means we have to probe our minds and be willing to search for other ways that we can view the situation we are faced with. And that’s hard. Especially when in the throes of disappointment, anger, and uncertainty. But this is also how we grow. This is how we become stronger people, more resilient, more capable, and also more wise. When we frame our experiences—positive or negative—as pathways of learning, then we will always come out winning.

Make the most of what you have. That’s just it. Change what you can change—whether that’s your actual situation or your thoughts/perspectives about the situation—and then focus on what you do have. It may not resolve your current situation, but it will put you into a better mental headspace… and that can help almost everything, every time.