Focus on the Positives

I've always been a positive person and always remember making a conscious effort to focus on the positives.  I was reminding myself of that fact this week as I'm always trying to focus on the positives with my own family.  Life regularly feels heavy and sad these days so I'm trying even harder than ever to fight to stay positive.

Ways to stay positive when life feels hard.

 

1 // Do something for someone else.

Kevin surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of Fall flowers on Friday.  He stopped at the store to grab a few things and said he just thought I needed a little Friday pick me up.  He was right.  The flowers look so pretty in my kitchen days later.

I also have several people in my life who are having hard weeks/months - new babies, sick family members, spouse in the hospital or a tragic death in the family.  Instead of just adding them to my prayer list and calling it good, I'm trying to actually do something for them.  I'm making dinner for several people in the coming weeks.  My hope is that they will feel loved and cared for when they get a night or two off from preparing a meal for themselves or their family.

My kids notice when I get their favorite foods at the store, when I follow up with questions about stressful school situations and friends notice when I remember to check in for big events that are important to them.

 

2 // Pay attention to the words you say.

I notice this so much at home.  If I'm negative about something, it's contagious to my whole family.  I try hard to point out the positives, look for the bright side and be encouraging in the midst of difficult times.  This can be true for your spouse, your kids, your family or your friends.

 

3 // Pay attention to the words you read & hear.

I notice this coming into play as I'm scrolling through social media.  I'm editing who I follow and trying hard to follow other people who are encouraging, positive and accounts that have feeds that leave me feeling positive.  I'm also making conscious efforts to cut back on screen time every day.  I don't watch a lot of news and try to really filter the news that my young kids hear.  Kevin likes to watch the news after the kids go to bed.

4 // Make a Phone Call

I rarely talk on the phone with family or friends and I think that leaves me feeling a little disconnected.  I will almost always text instead of call.  But I'm sharing this with you for some accountability - I'm going to try to add more phone calls into my rotation instead of just texting to check in with people.  I'm hoping these phone calls will be a big positive in my days and brighten my day & others days.

5 // Eat Well & Meal Plan

One of the biggest ways I can serve my family is to shop, prep and prepare meals that are healthy.  It takes some serious time and dedication to make this happen.  I usually do a combination of grocery pick up, in store shopping at Aldi and then meal prepping during the day to come up with our weekly menu.  I block time out for meal prep each week and am dedicated to packing healthy lunches & serving healthy dinners to my family.  We all feel better and have an easier time staying positive when we are eating well.

6. // Get Enough Rest & Exercise

I am finally consistently going to bed earlier.  I have always been a night owl, but gone are the days of staying up way past midnight and happily functioning the next day.  I try to go to bed anywhere between 10:30-11:30 and it's been a great positive change for me.  I'm also getting in some exercise almost every day.  I'm not crazy about it, but it is a priority to me.  The weather has been really nice lately so we've been going on family walks and talking about our days.

7 // Quality Family Time

When lots of things around you feel chaotic or uncertain, you can stay positive and plan fun things for your family to do.  We have been enjoying being outside, going to local parks, watching football together, crafting, doing projects and dreaming up some trips in the near future.  I try to keep life as normal and positive for the kids as possible at home and then hopefully life here in the US will settle down a bit from all the chaos and uncertainty we are currently experiencing.

What things do you do to stay positive these days?