10 Ideas to Help Stay Positive
10 Ideas to Help Stay Positive
By D.S. Mitchell
Dark Times
I don’t know about you, but the last couple years have been tough for me emotionally and spiritually. The political discord, the social division, the gun violence, the melting glaciers, the slaughter of 12,000 innocent children in Gaza, the Trump presidency, the anti-Semitism, the growing religious intolerance, and the loneliness and hopelessness of the COVID-19 pandemic have taken their toll. I know I am not alone in my distress, so because of that I decided to pass on a few things I learned while working in both Crisis and General Psychiatry at a large teaching hospital.
Cultivating Hope and Joy
- Feeling awful? Now might be a good time to start practicing Gratitude. Gratitude is quite simply an acknowledgement that we are thankful for everything and we are content with it. Contentment leads to happiness the researchers tell us. I suggest you find one small thing that’s good about every day, no matter how bad the day may seem.
- Create Daily Routines that you look forward to. The brisk early morning walk with a friend where you can breathe fresh air and build a relationship. A late afternoon cup of tea in your favorite mug in a favorite spot. I love my back deck which looks over a beautiful lake in Southern Oregon. The multisensory experience is joyful, you smell it, you taste it, you see it. Savor the anticipation of those pleasurable times that you create each day. I elevate it to a ritual.
- “Take a walk,” is great advice for both your physical and mental health. Even small amounts of exercise can elevate your mood. Make sure you engage in some form of physical activity a couple times a day. Set your phone ringtone to announce exercise time. How about scheduling a ‘play day’ once a week where you become a kid again. Blow bubbles, bring out the hula hoop, skip rope, ride your bike.
- Music creates my mood and I know I’m not alone. Set up a playlist loaded with upbeat tunes you love and turn it on when your spirits falter.
- Make small connections with as many people in a day as you can. A few words with the barista, a comment about the Trailblazers to your neighbor, will brighten your mood and give you a sense of connection to the community. Those brief interactions are much more therapeutic than previously thought, and play an important role in our sense of wellbeing. Another way to bring yourself out of a slump is to call a loved one.
- Help someone. Helping others, or getting involved in a cause that is important to you can improve your sense of wellbeing. Look for a way to give back; plant a tree in the park, donate blood, contribute to an online fund raiser for your favorite candidate. Volunteerism is a joyful thing.
- Identify 25 things that make you happy. Put the list on your phone so if you hit a bad spot you can look at it and be reminded of the things that make you smile.
- Allow yourself to be positive about the future.
- Determine a goal that you want to accomplish. Not something you have to do, but rather something you want to do. And then do something each day to get you closer to your goal. That’s how I wrote my first novel. One day at a time.
- Pet a dog; yours or someone else’s. Pets open the door to social opportunities. I cannot think of one time that I’ve taken my dog for a walk that someone hasn’t asked to pet her, or just stopped and made small talk. Plus, there is something comforting about cuddling with a dog.
I hope that some of the ideas I shared will help you get through some tough days with a little more hope and a lot more joy.
