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Mar 17
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What if you lost your job, your house is being foreclosed, your creditors are closing in, and your marriage had become a hellishly nightmare? No, that is not make-believe story, but it the actual life of some people today. If you are experiencing these circumstances, here are eight tips you can use to maintain a positive outlook under your stressful circumstances.
1. Start by finding things for which to be grateful for in your life. Gratitude is very crucial to your happiness and peace of mind because when you are grateful, you see the world differently. Most people tend to see the “bad” things that happen in their lives, but most overlook the “good” things. What a pity. Open your eyes and be aware of those good things you experience.
As you are begin to be grateful, you will realize that your life is wonderful, and you will feel joy despite your current circumstances. So, if you are reading this article, realize that you are alive, and your mind is functioning fairly well. Therefore, be grateful.
What else are you grateful for in your live in this moment? Write a gratitude list, and give thanks for everything that is good in your life. Start with being alive, breathing, and thinking, and add every blessing that comes to your mind no matter have small to your list. Remember, every moment of life is a blessing, every bite of food you taste, every bird you see, every sound you hear, and every kiss from your primary partner (spouse). Even small things matter. If someone calls you a friend, that’s something you should be grateful for. If a child smiles to you, it should remind you that hope is always here in this world.
2. Take it one step further, and write all the good things that happen in your life in a “good things” journal, especially those which impress you and make you feel joyful. When life looks dark and it is difficult for you to be grateful, open and read your journal. You will soon realize the wonderful life you have, and you will get new strength to overcome your problems.
3. Give thanks for the life lessons that you are learning. Although it may not be aware of it at this time, every thing that is occurring in your life is for your highest good because there are positive things behind all the “bad” things that happen. This might be difficult for some people to accept, but I firmly believe it. At the very least, “bad” things give you valuable lessons you should be grateful for. When you have a mindset that is based in gratitude, it’s not difficult to see the “good” things you could get out of “bad” circumstances. This way you will always have reasons to be grateful.
Remember, when you have a “bad” circumstance or what I call a breakdown in life (i.e. lost of job), there something better coming. Therefore, make a list of what you have learned from your current breakdowns. Write it out, and be grateful for each lesson. Life’s lessons appear to often come at great cost, but actually they are priceless jewels that are required for your growth.
In 2002, I had a major breakdown when I was unemployed, and I lost nearly all the money in my stock portfolio, but I would not change those circumstances because those breakdowns caused me to embark on a journey that has totally changed my life. As a result, my marriage is stronger, my relationship with my kids is better, my finances are better, my consciousness has expanded, and my spiritual connection to all that IS has expanded.
4. Do you have a support system of friends and family you can confide in about how you are feeling? If you do, be very grateful, and use that network of people now. Do not feel embarrassed to seek emotional support from those you respect and love. If you don’t feel you have a support network, find one in your church or community.
Furthermore, associate with positive people. You will be like the people you associate with most of the time. It is difficult for most people to be positive if the people they meet through out the day are focusing on negativity or discussing negative events. Therefore, surround yourself with positive people who themselves are grateful and positive , and it will be much easier and natural for you to be a grateful and positive.
5. Care for your mind and body with special attention and gentleness in this time of change. Several times each day, take a moment to breathe deeply and center yourself. Do this by closing your eyes and taking three deep breaths. Exhale each breath three times as long as you inhale to relax you mind and body.
Eat healthy and be aware of stressful eating. Do light exercises and drink plenty of water throughout the day. Also, get enough sleep to rejuvenate your body. If you have trouble sleeping, take a hot shower and listen to some soft relaxing / meditative music.
6. Begin each day with a silent walk. Awaken a half hour earlier to make time for it. While a walk in a natural setting such as a park or on the ocean shore is ideal, a walk on city streets will suffice. As you are walking, thoughts, angers, resentments, and fears may form in your mind. That “mind chatter” is always with us whenever we are not focused on a specific mental activity and it gets much stronger when we are stressed. Neither resent the mind chatter, nor let it linger. Say “thank you for sharing” to each passing thought, anger, resentment, or fear. Then release it, and return to your silent walk.
7. Release your angers, resentments, and fears by feeding them to a cleansing fire. Do this by lighting a candle that is placed in an aluminum pan or by starting a small fire in a metal bucket. Write one issue, concern, or fear on a piece of paper, and put it in to the flame of the candle or in the fire in the metal bucket. As the paper begins to burn, release your anger, concern or fears to God. Repeat this process until you can no longer feel the emotion about the concern or fear that you were experiencing. Give thanks for this release.
I know this may sound like hocus pocus, but his process is effective.
Warning, do this activity outside and be careful not to start an uncontrollable fire. Have a bottle of water or a fire extinguisher near by to extinguish any small uncontrollable fire if it occurs.
8. Do NOT watch the news or read newspapers because they will infect your mind with negativity and cause you to worry or experience fear. If you want to watch television, watch comedy movies that make you laugh. See my post, Eliminating Negativity from Your Life. Furthermore, read books on personal development to strengthen your self-esteem or listen to upbeat music with POSITIVE lyrics.
These eight tips can help you cope with your circumstances and help you keep a positive outlook in life. However, it’s up to you to decide whether or not you want to experience joy each day and have a positive outlook on life. If you decide to use these tips, each day will be better than the last day. No matter what happens to you, it is still you who decide how you will respond to your breakdowns. So make the decision to be a positive person, and may your days be filled with joy, hope, and inner peace!
Namaste,
RC
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