This year has forced many of us to change the way we think. Some took advantage of picking up new hobbies. Some had to adjust to a different work environment. Many of us had to deal with having the entire family in the home due to kids learning virtually online. Our country has seen a lot of turmoil with racisim, political unrest, and the world-wide health crisis.

We have learned to adapt to our new “normal” and even started to find some positives to some extent. In the beginning, I jumped on the baking wagon and tried all kinds of recipes to entertain myself. Funny thing is, I never stuck to any of it. I had fun, but after trying it once, it was enough to satisfy my curiosity and it served as a check on my bucket list.

Later in the year, I found Tik Tok and this amazing online place to have fun and meet new people. Now, 6 months into using this app, it evolved from doing silly things to using this platform as a means to share my thoughts, almost on a daily basis. Eventually, I found a community of people that shared the same ideas and philosophies as me. I have interacted with others who have inspired me and even got me to stop overthinking and to just start doing things! It has been an amazing experience to find a community of people that I’ve never met who share so many common things!

Most recently, I noticed the “Positivity Crew” has been lifting each other up more and sharing thoughts, experiences and suggestions of what we can do to change our thinking pattern or mindset. This made me think that we need to re-train our brain. Just like our other muscles in our bodies that need to be excercised or stregthened, so does our brain.

Many of us have been stuck in a rutt lately. Several have experienced loss and/or pain. We have witnessed so much in this past year, it is surprising to not get sucked into the quicksand of negativity. It proves we are true survivors!

Personally, I have made it my committment to change my mindset. It has been my purposeful thoughts and actions to continually remind myself, as well as share with others, that there is good in something everyday.

I’m not saying it has been easy. It has been a process, a journey, an awakening. Just like it takes time to break a bad habit, it takes just as much time to stop our negative thinking, and re-train our brain to see things in a more positive light.

Being positive doesn’t mean that you are constantly happy, smiling or laughing, but it is more about how we handle our situations for the better. Having a positive mindset and attitude means we can see good at the end. We are confident that we will not be stuck in our situation and remain hopeless. Some of us set positive affirmations by saying to ourselves we are strong, worthy, loving, smart, etc.

It is so easy to fall into the negative trap of feeling hopeless, awkward, sad, etc. And if we continue to say those things about ourselves, we end up believing that and have a difficult time seeing how amazing we really are as people. Instead, we need to change our direction or flip the switch and start talking about ourselves in a more positive way.

Here is are suggestions of how to keep the momentum:

• Be Intentional
  • Set a goal or goals you want to achieve each day. They can be simple goals, like completing a task, to more lofty goals so you have something to work towards in a longer term.
• Be Consistent
  • It’s important to set a routine, and do your best to stick to that routine. Perhaps you start with meditating and excercising. Maybe it’s enjoying a great cup of coffee and reading a book. Whatever your routine is, do your best to stay consistent.
• Be Grateful
  • Since our lives have slowed down, it has given us the opportunity to appreciate the little things in life. Maybe you enjoy waking up to the sunrise. Taking a moment to pause and be grateful for what we do have in our lives can help your mind feel at peace.

source:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201710/how-train-your-brain-think-differently