“What will you focus on?”
Hi Everyone,
As we go through the holidays this year, I am sure it feels very different than past years. We have been challenged this year to be adaptive, flexible and resilient. As the colder weather comes in, the daylight hours are shorter, and COVID is still looming, it can be quite difficult to thrive and enjoy life. I know that many of us will not spend the holidays as we usually do. There will be family members we won’t get to see. There will be smaller dinners and get together’ s. And yet we can still thrive and enjoy life! (Yes, we can). How we thrive is largely driven by our mindset and outlook on life. It is not dependent on what is going on around us. Thriving involves choosing and deciding on how to thrive no matter what the circumstances. It is not about “Can I thrive?”, but “How can I thrive?”
Most years, holidays are for celebrating. However, when we feel discouraged, depressed, or disappointed our thoughts will gravitate to the negative. Celebrating is the exact opposite. To celebrate something means to give honor or praise. It means to make public something wonderful, to commemorate something. I know, if you are feeling depressed, you are probably thinking, “I have nothing to celebrate, life sucks.” As with any belief we can find evidence to support it. If you believe that life sucks, your thoughts are probably focused on the things in life that suck. We could focus on the various challenges of this year and the losses we have experienced. We could become angry, sad, frustrated, or disappointed. Or we could choose to focus on what we can enjoy. We can focus on the things we want to enjoy. Right now you could focus on feeling good. You could choose to review, even write down, all the things in life that bring you satisfaction, joy, or laughter.
What if you decided, in fact you chose, to focus on the things in life that are wonderful?
Which list are you going to chose to focus on?
Make your list today and read it. Then read it again and again.
Best regards,
Dr. Lou