Right about now, there could be things in your life that you’re sorely disappointed and unhappy about. Things that are delayed. Things that don’t seem fair. Things that fell apart. Things that hurt. Numerous things…
You have done everything as right as you think you can do them, yet the results are not adding up. You simply don’t understand why things cannot be different for you especially when you look at your contemporaries who appear to have it better.
Listen up, don’t give up hope on your life and yourself. The alternative to giving up hope is too despairing to think about.
Just like time moves forward, keep pushing forward albeit ensure that your race is run with God. One day for sure, you will look back with understanding and say “now it makes sense.”
Some of these things had to happen. They had to say no; the person had to leave, Judas had to betray Christ, Joseph’s brothers had to throw him nnto the pit; that door needed to be shut; the storm had to pass through etc.
As life is not a linear journey, things often go wrong, before they go right. Even when it doesn’t make sense, God’s hands are ordering your steps, and all things will turn out for your good.
I am on a short break and having a lazy morning. Last night, I had planned on having an early night so that I would wake up with the early bird and go for a walk – getting an early start on my day, but because I was up late nattering away with a friend who had called at night, I went to bed later than planned and my morning didn’t start off as I had wanted.
I could have easily ended the convo, but she was in such a chatty and cheerful mood that I chose to extend the chit-chat. When I woke up this morning, the sun’s rays were already licking my windowpanes that the early morning walk was dead on arrival.
I reshuffled my itinerary – pushing my walk to the later hours of sundown and sat down to attend to other things and to take a measure of my thoughts. I realized I wasn’t feeling so chipper maybe due to sleeping late and whatever but quickly decided that I didn’t want my mood to go south and get funkier.
Instead of mulling over the fact that my itinerary was impacted and a bit askew, I quickly responded to a couple of emails/proposals that if all goes as well as it should, the expected response will definitely put a smile on my face.
As I measured my thoughts, I reinforced these perspectives:
My focus throughout this year is to hold the reins of my thoughts in control as much as is humanly possible, to dwell more on the positives and to quit magnifying the negatives.
My focus is to remind myself of and to appreciate the bridges that I’ve crossed and not the paths where I fell.
My focus is to remind myself that sometimes, a late-night chit-chat adds more flavour to life than an early morning rise and that an evening walk might even pan out better today.
My focus is to be grateful for friends who find time to spend with you, for moments of gratifying laughter and meaningful chit-chats ‘cos as life’s stress mounts, such moments get further far and few in-between.
My focus throughout this year is to keep my energy flow in a high-vibrational frequency so as that my thinking, and feelings are aligned with positivity, love, compassion, and overall well-being. As such, I attract positive experiences and people into my life, and this includes my online experiences.
I eschew all forms of negativity that reduces my frequency and will avoid people who harbour such as they only emit negative emotions and energy, which can lower one’s vibrational frequency. They may have a pessimistic outlook on life, engage in negative habits, and spread negativity to others. Their low vibration affects your spiritual energy which is associated with negative emotions such as persistent feeling of sadness or anger, sluggish thinking, constant fatigue, apathy etc.
On a closing note, whilst partaking in online interactions, avoid those pages that only offer toxic, negative, distressing, gender-biased, dehumanizing posts. Those people are miserable and looking for company. They have nothing better to offer. Be wise ‘cos bad company corrupts good manners.
How can you go through life postponing being happy and waiting for all the right situations to happen before you can feel happy? Here’s the sad news. The government will always consist of unconscientious and shitty people. Life will never truly balance. Things may never align perfectly at every point in time which therefore means that your wait is wasted effort.
However, the good news is that every new day we open our eyes presents fresh choices and chances and reasons to be happy. Life can be likened to a busy airport terminal, where happiness arrives and departs around the clock. The likelihood is that the opportunity to be happy has already arrived and probably departed whilst you were so busy fussing over your excess luggage. Most times, joyful, happy moments are right in front of you, but your mindset is unable to shift for you to notice and appreciate it because you are stuck on all the negative things going on around you.
Irrespective of all that may be going on around you, you can truly feel happier, be more productive, attract success, manifest your dreams and enjoy yourself whilst at it. Yes, it is not easy. It requires a lot of intentionality, and purposefulness, but when you shift your focus and the way you think, your perspective changes. When shift happens, your life changes. So, let’s keep getting our shift together.
It is so easy to fall into a rut especially when life becomes monotonous that you can literally function on autopilot without paying much mind to what you are doing.
Consequently, weeks of functioning like that can lead to dissatisfaction which creeps in and we start feeling that life is a tedium and getting stuck in a rut can be frustrating and demotivating.
Life will seem like a tiresome cycle of chore, responsibilities, bills and expectations. Getting out of this sense of drudgery is seriously essential for our total well-being especially as adults who have a lot of burden to bear.
Every single day, I make conscientious effort to engage in wholesome activities that enhance my sense of purpose, peace and harmony.
I listen to music, I dance, I read, I go for walks, I exercise, I watch movies and comedies, I pray, I think good thoughts. I write, I create. I live in a dream world. I try to do things a bit differently.
Often, I wear vibrant clothes and colors as much as possible. I affirm myself every single day and so on and so forth. Practicing some form of self-care peps up one’s spirit and pulls you out of the doldrums.
What works for me, might not be your cup of tea, nevertheless, here are some strategies to help you avoid getting stuck:
Shake Up Your Routine regularly Try something new: Engage in a new hobby, activity, or class to challenge yourself and discover new interests. Change your environment: Rearrange your workspace, take a different route, or travel to a new place to stimulate your mind. Mix up your social circle: Meet new people, attend events, or join a club to expand your social network.
Set Goals and Challenges Set SMART goals: Create Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals to focus on. Break tasks into smaller steps: Divide large tasks into manageable chunks to maintain momentum. Create a challenge for yourself: Set a personal challenge, like running a marathon or learning a new language.
Practice Self-Care Get enough sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep to help your brain function at its best. Exercise regularly: Engage in physical activity to boost your mood and energy levels. Meditate and practice mindfulness: Take time to relax, focus on the present, and reduce stress.
Seek Inspiration and Support Read inspiring stories: Explore books, articles, or podcasts that share stories of overcoming obstacles. Find a mentor or accountability partner: Connect with someone who can offer guidance, support, and motivation. Join a community or group: Participate in online forums, social media groups, or local meetups to connect with like-minded individuals.
Embrace Failure and Learning View failure as a learning opportunity: Recognize that mistakes are an essential part of growth and development. Reflect on your experiences: Take time to analyze what went wrong and how you can improve in the future. Celebrate small wins: Acknowledge and celebrate your achievements, no matter how small they may seem.
You must remember that life is what we make of it and each day, we owe it to ourselves to make our living worthwhile.
I believe that simplifying things that concern us works 99.9% of the time. Most times, we complicate our lives by taking simple things and making them harder than they should be. So many things don’t require figuring out and overthinking, they only require a ‘just do it’ attitude.
Everyone can do simple things to make a difference, and every little bit really does count. Stella Mccartney
Inevitably, at many points in time, we experience the vagaries of life that draw us back. The most important factor to bear in mind ‘is to never forget to pick yourself up and to keep inching forward always.’Jacqueline
When you are at your lowest ebb; when everything that could go wrong has gone wrong that there’s no more shoe left to drop, see it as the best place to earthen your feet and walk bare.
We will all experience anguish, pain, loss, heartbreak etc, but how we respond to these issues of life determines how far we’ll go. Self-inflicted suffering during a crisis is double jeopardy and is definitely optional.
I am committed to the promises that I made to myself. The promise of self-love. The promise to take better care of myself, body, mind, and spirit. The promise to appreciate myself. The promise to hold on to my dreams and to give them my best shots. The promise not to let the past be an anchor that holds me down. The promise to keep a positive mind and to let love be my compass.
Valuable Thoughts From Others
Robert Matthew Goldstein: Learning to cope with PTSD takes insight and skill. Affirmations are an excellent strategy.
P.S. If you wish to join this positive affirmation challenge running for 90 days, please add your quote to the comments and each day, I’ll share everyone’s quote with their links.
a cooking pot and twisted tales 