Do you know people who seem to radiate positive energy no matter what’s going on in their lives?
We hear all the time about the power of positivity, but some days it’s just plain hard, especially with things as they are in the world right now. We know being positive will help us feel better, but pressuring ourselves to be positive when we aren’t feeling it can feel like yet another thing to add to our endless to-do list, another challenge we need to tackle.
And we’re so freaking tired, the last thing we want is another challenge.
But what if it wasn’t something else we need to struggle to achieve? What if it was simple?
I actually think it can be.
Here’s the deal. When we feel positive, it seems as if positive things happen, right? When we’re lucky enough to wake up on the right side of the bed, feeling shiny and alive, people are kinder and our day seems to flow.
The opposite is also true. On the days we wake up, for whatever reason, in a bad mood, everything seems to go wrong. We stub our toe, spill our coffee, hit all the red lights, everyone is grumpy toward us… and on and on until we can’t wait to just go to bed and start over the next day.
Is this because the world is different based on our mood?
No.
But our PERCEPTION of the world is.
Raising our energy to a positive place allows us to SEE the positive in our lives. We’re able to recognize people and opportunities that support our growth and our purpose that we might otherwise overlook, because we aren’t blinded by focusing on what’s “wrong.”
And when we see the positive, we FEEL positive, which naturally makes us more effective in every aspect of our lives, from parenting, to work, to our life’s passion. We attract like-minded people, and through those connections we lift each other up. And the upward spiral grows from there.
So how do we do this? How do we break the cycle when we’re in a rut, shift our perception and raise our energy to a positive place?
We reverse the process.
We SEE THE POSITIVE first.
Even if we feel like we have to sift through three tons of crap to find one little thing.
Yes, sometimes it’s challenging to see the good in our lives when things feel tough, but remember this saying–
What we focus on grows.
It seems so simple we almost dismiss it, but even in its simplicity, it is one of the most powerful tools we have for attracting more of what we want, and letting go of the rest.
By acknowledging our blessings, we see our world from lightness, not darkness.
By changing our PERCEPTION of our world, we realize we have to power to create our own reality.
By shining the light of our attention on the magical things in our lives, even if it feels like only a tiny fraction is magical sometimes, focusing on and feeling gratitude for those things magnifies their power and allows them to take root and blossom in our mind.
When we focus on what brings us joy, we see more of it in our lives. It literally feels as if it multiplies.
A very simple, material example of this is when we decide to buy a new car. We start researching, getting really excited about the prospect of buying that super awesome model, and suddenly we see that car EVERYWHERE. It’s not that there are suddenly more of that model of car on the road, it’s that we see what our mind is focused on. (I’ma say that again-)
We see what our mind is focused on.
When we stop focusing on what we DON’T want in our lives, and instead turn our attention and gratitude toward what we have, we realize we have everything that truly matters. And that realization gives us the peace and confidence to operate from a place of higher energy, and to trust that by doing so, more of what brings us joy will become apparent in our lives.
That is the power of gratitude.
Can you feel how empowering this is? When we understand this, we are no longer controlled by what’s going on around us. Instead we see how WE control what we perceive. By turning our focus to what IS working in our lives, those things take center stage.
I think this is one of the strategies those eternally positive people use, how they seem to maintain their joy regardless of what’s going on around them. They are choosing, moment by moment, to focus on their blessings. Taking control of their perception. Step by step, minute by minute.
I had a song playing in my head all last night when I should have been sleeping. It’s a song called “Ordinary Miracle” by Sarah McLachlan. Click here to listen.
Take a moment today to look around and notice all the ordinary miracles in your world. Even when things are hard, there is always something to be grateful for.
Put your focus there and watch it grow.
I am grateful for you.
Xx Jen
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