A Positive Outlook Isn’t Turning a Blind Eye
Editor’s Pick. Written by Pam Laricchia.
Last week I talked about finding joy, that deeper sense of self that no longer seems quite so susceptible to the whims of life and luck. Yet, as I mentioned, it’s not that life no longer has disappointments or challenges, so I thought I’d talk a bit about when things go wrong. You know, those moments when maybe you act and react without thinking, or when things seem to go from bad to worse and worse again.
One tip I’ve found helpful over the years, which I believe I first heard from Sandra Dodd: remember these are just moments, don’t be tempted to paint your whole day as a “bad day”. Each new moment is a chance to do something differently. If you stay in that place of disappointment or frustration it colours your perspective as you move through the rest of your day: you view, act, and react through that filter. All of a sudden a handful of things not going perfectly becomes the world out to get you. (Note: the world isn’t out to get you.) So there’s a really good reason to take the time to put the frustrating moments into perspective and move forward fresh: your next moments aren’t tainted before they even happen.