Positivity
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How to brighten our dark thoughts
“I once had a garden filled with flowers that grew only on dark thoughts, but they needed constant attention, and one day I decided I had better things to do.” ~Brian Andreas Negativity is both lazy and self-destructive. It’s easy to get caught up in the hourly maelstrom of bad news, stressful events, and angry opinions — especially if you spend time on social media. “Dark thoughts” can become a pattern, a habit. (Haven’t we all met people who start complaining as soon as we ask how they’re doing?) Positivity takes tremendous effort, which is why so many people settle for the low-hanging fruit of doomscrolling. This is why I’m limiting how much stressful…
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Positive thinking
“Research suggests that positive thinking and optimism can impact your health. Positive emotions are associated with a decreased production of the stress hormone cortisol, along with improved immune function, and reduced disease risk.” ~ Andrew Weil, M.D. After weeks of stressful, disturbing news, I believe we could all use a break. Dr. Andrew Weil, the father of alternative medicine, reminds us that our physical health depends on our state of mind. Keeping a positive outlook is as important as exercising and eating a healthy diet. I know it’s unwise to blindly ignore what’s happening in the world. And it’s foolish to pretend that everything is peachy when it’s not. But…
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Daybooks
“You are exactly where you need to be. This is the perfect day to start your life again.” ~Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year This month, I revisited the old-fashioned ritual of reading a daybook entry every morning. It’s a wonderful way to start a new year — and it helps keep me grounded, positive, and motivated. Not to be confused with journals or diaries, daybooks originated in the late 1500s as books for recording daily events or accounting transactions. Over time, daybooks evolved into curated collections of short spiritual musings, magazine clippings, inspirational quotes, and other bits of wisdom. In recent years, daybooks such as Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance and…
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What if …?
“You’ll never get anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that.” ~Roald Dahl Last year, a local yoga teacher began one of our sessions with a talk about managing stress and anxiety. Most of us focus on negative outcomes or worst-case scenarios when we’re frightened or worried, she explained, which only makes us twice as anxious. And then she posed the question: “What if we focus instead on what it will be like when everything turns out OK?” By changing our perspective, we could change the tone of our day. For me, it was a bright flash of brilliance in a dark time. Fear and anxiety have been eroding my peace…
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Luminosity
“Look carefully around you and recognize the luminosity of souls. Sit beside those who draw you to that.” ~Rumi Other people’s moods and opinions are as contagious as the common cold. In fact, there’s a clinical study suggesting that we become like the five people with whom we spend most of our time. According to this theory, if your spouse and peer group are serial pessimists and complainers, you might be one too. It’s also likely that you share the same political views. Psychological studies aside, I’m always drawn to folks who spread their sunshine and draw me out of the shadows when I’m down. In his best-selling book, How…
