I have long believed that my life was mine to shape, within my own sphere of control. I may not control what happens around, or to me, those hard things life throws our way, like illness, divorce etc. But I always have a choice in how I respond and that is where the power to transform your life truly lies.
This TEDx talk captured a lot of great actions you could do to help drive this positive attitude into your everyday life. One of these ideas, that I have used consistently over the past 4 years now, was gratitude journaling. This is when you take time to reflect at the end of your day and list 3-5 things you are grateful for in the past 24 hours. Sometimes they are big things, like "hey, I made it to 40 and am loving my life" . Sometimes its a really tough day and the grateful things become, "my dog is still excited to see me and give me kisses". When I'm consistent with journaling, I can definitely sense the change in my mood that takes hold and it becomes an amplifier. By practicing setting that focus to positivity, it shifts my perspective and I really do start to see silver linings even in piles of sh*t! (hey, that stuff grows AMAZING flowers!)
The other key takeaway technique that I'd never heard before, your future day visualization in retrospect. Here's the steps:
- Set aside 5 minutes at the beginning of your day, before your day begins.
- Visualize your day ahead of you.
- Describe it OUT LOUD (either to yourself or to someone you trust) as if the day has already happened.
WOW, mind blown. I couldn't wait to try this one for myself! And conveniently, I have a nice 15 minute commute to work every morning in which to talk to myself! :o)
My first session went a little like this:
"What an amazing day I've had! I got a great opportunity at work to present to upper level leadership. I had a clear vision for what I wanted to communicate, had prepped my slides well, and I walked out of the meeting knowing I knocked it out of the park. Then I managed to get home with enough time and energy left to get a long bike ride in. The ride "woke" me up so that when I got back, I made a meal both kids loved. After supper, I took the dogs for a walk around the park and enjoyed the breeze and the scents of summer, boy I really love this neighborhood. When I got home, Bella was still hanging in living room so we settled in for some family time watching Parks N Rec. All in all, today was a perfect day, I can't wait for tomorrow!"
Did my day end up going exactly like that? No. But that important work meeting that I was nervous about? Killed it. I think it had a lot to do with setting that mental expectation before I ever went into the day that I was going to succeed. So if you ever pass me in the car in the morning, I'm probably NOT singing out loud (well maybe I am). Most likely I'm doing a recitation of my future day in retrospect. :o)
Give it a try, I'd love to hear how it works for you!
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