Cultivate an optimistic mind, use your imagination, always consider alternatives, and dare to believe that you can make possible what others think is impossible. – Rodolfo Costa
Do you like me find yourself constantly focussing on the negatives? The 2 or 3 things you haven’t got or done well, compared to the 10 things you have achieved. All my life I’ve been quite the pessimist and almost automatically programmed to think about the negative aspects of life, therefore I decided that I couldn’t just settle for that anymore. Something had to give. One way or another, I was determined to inject a little more positivity into my life. That’s where the positivity jar comes in…
Before I would begin filling my jar with all the various notes, I thought it’d best to do some research and give myself a better idea around the sort of topics I could write about. After all, it would be a jar for my viewing only and so I wanted to make it as effective and useful for me as possible. What would be the point in rushing if the jar didn’t really help or mean anything? That would be pointless. I pride myself on being meticulous and giving 100% in everything I do, therefore I didn’t see a reason why this should be any different.
Equipped with a jar from one of our kitchen cabinets, I opted to start by filling it with numerous famous and meaningful quotes. If you’re a consistent viewer of my blogs, you’ll know in each of my blogs that I include a quote at the beginning to set the tone for the piece. To engage the reader immediately and give them something to think about. I’m not going to lie but I previously saw quotes as both pretentious and meaningless, nevertheless, through the struggles and heartache, I started to notice the positive impact they can have on myself and others. How just a few words or a certain phrase can strike a ‘mental cord’ and give somebody a glimmer of light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Life is full of people suffering adversity and battling through and it’s those stories or words of wisdom that give people such great hope!
Together alongside the quotes, I wanted to also include notes personal to me and the experiences of my life. For example, memories that I savour, opportunities I’ve had, the hobbies that I enjoy, the lessons that I’ve learned, people that have inspired me and the people that I’m grateful to have in my life. Friends. Family. Volunteering. Sports. Just to name a few. Anything that I could look back on when I’m in a bad headspace and potentially drag me out of that.
As people that suffer with a mental illness will know, you can become so consumed in your own thought processes that it feels impossible to cope. And the world feels as though it’s quickly crumbling all around you. Positive thoughts feel a million miles away- and I realised for the good of my wellbeing- that I needed tools to alter my mindset. It was time I embraced optimism more!
While previous to creating the jar I was slightly sceptical about how much it could benefit me, I’m pleased to say that it was definitely worth the effort. I’ve still got a long way to go before I achieve my ideal mindset, but the main thing is I’m making steps towards a better life. Slowly but surely.
If you too want to adopt a more positive approach, I’d really recommend you get started on creating your very own positivity jar. Who knows, it could make a real difference!
Thanks for reading,
Adam
Breaking The Stigma 