The Owies of Life - Part 2

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9 ESV). Listed below are seven ideas that really work to help you think more positive. Life is difficult, but there are things you can do to lighten your load. See if some of these don't help. 1. Teach Yourself A Lesson. In counseling this technique is called reframing. You take a bad experience and try to define what it is that you can learn from this experience that will make your life better. It is a way of turning pain to gain. 2. Interrupt Your Negative Thoughts. Research shows that if you continue to think negatively, you will feel more negative. Interrupting those thoughts and replacing them with positive memories can be extremely helpful in creating more positive energy. 3. Set Realistic Goals. Positive thinkers have learned how to meet their objectives. They set standards that are neither too high nor too low. They feel a sense of accomplishments when they complete tasks on their daily "to do" list. Realistic goals must be specific and they must be achievable. 4. Be Good To Yourself. You need to define those things that make you feel good and as often as you can incorporate them into your life. We know that positive reinforcement works. You need to reinforce yourself with the things that you value and enjoy. 5. Look For The Silver Lining. While it is true that negative things do happen and that there are times, when we seem to be overwhelmed by them, it is important that positive things do, in fact happen. Take time each day to write down or think about positive things that occurred in your day. It could be as simple as looking at a beautiful cloud, or hearing a song that you really enjoy. 6. Be Glad It's Not Worse. This technique simply put says, while my situation may be bad, it indeed could be worse. An example would be that you break your wrist, but that's better than being paralyzed for the rest of your life from the waist down. While sometimes our situation is as bad as it gets, usually, in most of our situations, we can find things that are worse. 7. Fake It, Charlie. Chaplin once said, "Smile though your heart is breaking." While it is important to get in touch with our feelings, being able to tell a joke, put a smile on our face, or do something that is absurdly pleasurable can help the discomfort of our lives go away.