20 Jun 3 steps to remain positive at all times
Nothing irks me more than people advising me to ‘be positive’. Especially those who haven’t an iota of a feeler of what exactly is my situation.
When you are in an unpleasant situation – be that personal or professional – of course, any sane person would love to wish it would all turn out to be rosy and thriving soon. The catch word here is ‘SOON’. No one in their good sense would expect it to happen ‘NOW’.
The time period between the ‘NOW’ and ‘SOON’ is what you need to travel holding on your sanity intact. For that, thinking about the end-results all the while will only make you more miserable. It will only make the journey to that point dredging and cumbersome.
Those who say, ‘this too shall pass, stay calm,’ ought to take a closer look at their elbows. For instance, there’s a flash flood in your area and you have lost your home and the water is rising. Would you stay hanging on to the cliff for dear life waiting for the rising waters to pass by or look for ways to call for attention to get rescued.
For instance, if you have lost your means of income and you are staring at your liabilities, will you at all times think of a great job, a fat pay cheque, and luxurious life telling yourself, this too shall pass?
Indeed, you create what you think and feel. By all means do it. However, by concentrating on the biggest picture all the time, you are being an escapist.
First, accept the NOW. The current situation.
Second, whittle down your ultimate goal. Break the ultimate goal to smaller bits. Work towards achieving something little, moving ahead one small step at a time each day.
Third, celebrate each small victory. Every weekend, find a reason to celebrate the progress you’ve made. That’s reassurance of your faith in the ultimate picture. That’s building up the belief in yourself.
These three steps will help you stay positive, because it gives you a sense of achievement, however small; because it helps you experience peace within, however momentary; because it helps boost you to plan bigger. And…it will help you believe in the saying, ‘this too shall pass’.
Most importantly, it will keep you going, help you tide over the period from NOW to SOON! Actual measurable progress is what matters, because we also have to appease the logical part of the brain.
As Martin Luther King said, If you can’t fly then run; if you can’t run then walk; if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward! You can’t sit imagining and visualizing the glorious future and expect to get there. For that, you need to move!
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