Some years ago, I was on a bus to school, and I was reading an Instagram post by a poet I really love, and he said that we really under-estimate the power of positive thinking.
That we do not accord it the amount of respect it deserves.
Back then, I was thinking about how I wanted to move forward with so many things, and I was stuck behind the wall of anxious, and pretty negative thinking. Then I came across these words that were no more than a lengthy Instagram caption, and they encouraged me that maybe it was time to start acting differently?
HOW ARE YOU?
If you haven’t heard it officially from me, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
How has the New Year been treating you?
It already feels like we are past the brand new feeling of a New Year, but I am still pretty excited about January, it is the first month of the year after all. Of a new beginning of something better? I hope so.
I spent the first two weeks or so of January just resting.
I think it is what I did last year too. Somehow, the beginning of the year is when I most feel like I need a break. Christmas, and December, were really busy for me, somehow.
Well, really it was because of all of the [wonderful!] festivities, and everything.
Does anyone else feel like they need a break after festivities? Ha-ha.
Anyways, during my brief two weeks of rest, I got thinking about some of the things that I wanted to do, and naturally. They feel daunting. Felt daunting.
And it is making me realize that thing about being human; no matter how many times we try to start something new, the fear never becomes commonplace. It is like climbing a hill all over again, except that when you are doing it the second, the third, the fifth or tenth time, if you are able to remember that it is a thing that has been overcome before, you realize how strong you really are. You remember.
I think once I realized that this was a fear I understood, that I had seen before, it made it predictable in a way. It made it easier for me to know that it is a thing that can be contained. That I do not need to let it turn into a fog that clouds my vision.
Is that where positive thinking comes in?
REALLY… WHERE DOES POSITIVE THINKING COME IN?
Let me share something.
Thoughts are pretty powerful things. Your actions are based on how things play out in your mind.
The time that I was speaking about earlier, on the bus, it really felt like I was going on a journey through life, but the fog of the past was really getting in the way of me seeing the path I wanted to take.
Of believing that the path was even there for me to take in the first place. That it even existed.
But seeing that Instagram post really made me recognize that there was even a fog there in the first place. Initially, I just thought that was what the world was supposed to look like; you are just supposed to doubt yourself every step of the way.
Of course, I now see that is not the way that things should be.
Negative thinking isn’t necessary, or very beneficial.
Also, it is very important to differentiate negative thinking from realistic thinking, which involves having a clear-eyed understanding of our situation, and the capacities we have.
Realistic thinking says I can do this and this with a bit of effort, but I see how it can be done if I just show up and get the needed support.
Negative thinking believes it cannot be done. Period. Even from the onset. It gets you to give up on things without even calculating how possible they are. It frustrates efforts, and can put you in a rut.
Get out of it.
But the other kind of thinking, positive thinking, is crucial. And it isn’t wishful thinking. Or plain optimism (which psychologists conclude is important, anyways).
Positive thinking hangs in that wonderful question of – what if things work out if I try.
Because, really, you can never know conclusively if you do not try.
So try. Believe in it. What if it works out if you try?
Let that be the question you ask yourself as you go on. Because it will, eventually. It will.
SO… WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING?
This year.
The rest of this month.
This quarter. Today.
I remember this blog post about Today being the only day that we really have. That we really have control over.
And it is one of the best ways that I have found to overcome anxiety about life, about the things I do have control over.
I get to ask myself, what can I do about it… today?
Sometimes it involves getting up to work, sitting quietly to think. Sharing the issue with someone who can give you some wise counsel. Sometimes it involves just doing nothing, and waiting.
Going to focus on other things.
{A great time to go on and read a nice poem, as I do}
That is why I love the line from this poem. that encourages us to not worry too much about tomorrow, but to consider the magic we can create in this day called Today.
Birds do not fret over their future, flowers do not worry about their beauty, but they are so well taken care of. Today.
And that is what matters.
Enjoy today. Live it. Explore it. Work in it. Hope in it.
And I wish us all a Happier, Better Year.
Take care.
And in the comments, give me an idea of some of the things that you do to get yourself into a more positive, and kinder frame of mind!