I try really hard to maintain my positivity at all times. I believe – through years of serious experimentation and reflection on the subject – that we have a significant amount of choice in how we feel. To that end, I have learned that if I choose to remain positive, I find myself feeling happier.
A few days ago, I ran into a situation that made me stop and think about what has become an automatic for me. Continue reading
At the beginning of February, I announced that I would be challenging myself to refrain from complaining for an entire month.
It’s February 15, so it’s a good time to check in and update you on my progress, what I’ve learned, and what has been challenging me.
So, how am I doing?
Pretty well, actually. What I’m finding is that, in general, my default is not to complain very much. I tend toward looking on the bright side of life. I’ve explained it a few times, like here and here, but I think it’s important to reiterate: this default of mine was not the factory setting. Focusing intently upon staying positive and avoiding complaining this month has served to solidify my confidence that the change has been a lasting one. For that, I’m truly grateful – life is so, so much better this way. Continue reading
Let me preface this post with a caveat: I’m writing about positivity, loss, pain, redemption, lessons, and the like. It’s important that I tell you that I’ve lived a charmed life. I’ve never gone hungry. I’ve never lost my home or my parents or siblings to war or terrorism. No one I know has ever gotten ebola or river blindness. I have multiple changes of clean, dry clothes, a car that runs, a girlfriend that loves me, and a dog that thinks I am a giant biped dog with whom he gets to live. Continue reading
Stress is the dissonance between your expectations and your reality. That’s it.
When you feel stressed, anxious, out of control of the situation, it’s almost uniformly because you want one thing but get another.
You want a smooth commute. You expected to get to work in 20 minutes. But the reality is, there’s traffic ahead and it’s going to take you 40 minutes. Your expectations and your reality don’t line up, and you feel it in the form of stress. Continue reading
I launched into a new month-long challenge today. I’m going to stop complaining for the month of February.
And just like Black History Month, I chose the shortest month of the year. Except I am not going to give a speech and tell you all that I’ve noticed what a great job Frederick Douglass is doing (yes, in the present tense).
I am a true believer in the power of our minds to shape our realities. Continue reading