Feel Good Friday #11

(I reblogged this lovely quote on tumblr recently)

 

Well hi there and welcome to our first ‘Feel Good Friday’ and indeed our first blog post of the year!

I really wanted my first post of 2014 to be all about my Christmas holiday to Sri Lanka which was without doubt one of the best and most insightful trips I have ever been on.  However as it turns out, whittling through the sheer amount of photo’s that we snapped is taking quite a while and as I couldn’t possibly share them all with you (we’d be here an age) I want to pick out my favourite ones to share in an up coming post.

‘What’s this got to do with inspirational quotes?!’ you may be wondering. Well while I was away I really enjoyed visiting some of the beautiful Buddhist temples. Just to point out, I’m not a Buddhist and I’m not religious, however I found the experience extremely calming and I love the philosophy that Buddhism promotes.

I chose this quote as it is one that I truly try to live my life by. If you are thinking a thought that is happy and positive and you dwell on it, it is near enough impossible to feel down in the dumps. Likewise if you are thinking negative thoughts about people and situations, it is impossible to feel happiness in that moment, you will just feel grumpy. It’s so easy to judge and criticize others as well as ourselves and all of us, myself included, are guilty of doing so. However it’s a well known fact that if your predominant thoughts are those of positivity, it will reflect in your general level of happiness. So although I would consider myself to be a fairly positive person anyway, this year I’m making an extra special effort to choose only happy thoughts. If a negative thought pops into my head, I’m going to push it right back out again and replace it with a positive one.

I wonder who will be joining me on this one?!

 

X



Feel Good Friday #3



                                                                                tumblr.com

I love the optimism induced by this quote. I really think that believing good things will happen to you makes you appreciate all the little things that happen throughout the day that you may not have taken notice of before. Being in an optimistic frame of mind and actively trying to see the positive in situations helps you to view the world in a way which allows you to see the wonderful things in your life.

So for instance, if you have a big decision to make – realise that it could be the start of an amazing new chapter in your life. If you’re starting a new job or school and are feeling nervous, think of all the things you’ll gain from the situation you’re in – new friends, a new perspective perhaps, new skills?! The next time you’re anxious about doing anything – realise that it’s completely normal to feel that way and make a mental note of what you will gain from that experience. Perhaps you will learn something new or maybe you just won’t feel as nervous the next time you’re in that situation, maybe you’ll even enjoy it!

Even the small things such as appreciating when people do something nice for you like holding a door open or smiling at you, do these things more often yourself and you’ll notice when others do them too! Taking the time to notice when you can see something positive in a situation eventually leads to an overall more optimistic mindset.

So there you have it, if you want to view life in a more optimistic way, start taking note of all the wonderful opportunities and people that come your way, starting today!

X



Feel Good Friday #2

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This week I’ve been contemplating the power of positive thinking. I always try to have a positive outlook on life for one reason – if I don’t, the only person it’s going to affect is myself. Everybody has their own difficulties in life, I don’t think I’ve met one person in my life that hasn’t and if anybody on this planet is actually lucky enough to experience a life without any difficulties, well I’m sure they could still find something to moan about if they really wanted to. So here is my point, when you think a happy thought, whether it’s about yourself, about someone else or just about life in general - it makes you feel good, right? On the other hand when you think a negative thought you feel the opposite! So why waste time thinking about things that make you feel bad? Now don’t get me wrong I’m by no means the most positive person in the world and of course like everyone else I have days where I could quite happily kill someone (not literally but you get my drift). However it’s the way in which I choose to deal with those emotions that I feel makes me an optimistic person. If something has happened that has upset me, I accept what I feel – I’ll have a cry or punch a pillow (whatever it takes) and then I’ll decide not to dwell on it and just be happy, simply because I can’t be bothered to feel negative – it takes effort!

So if I ever find myself thinking a negative thought I quickly replace it with a positive one, your thoughts shape your experience of life and we are only on this weird and wonderful planet for a short while so I intend to enjoy my time here. For that reason I take full responsibility for my own happiness, I choose to see the good in myself, in other people and in my life. I accept myself exactly as I am, because I am me and everything about me (even my flaws) make me into the person that I am. I have learned through my experience of life to let go of situations and people who don’t make me happy and I don’t let other people’s negative opinions or thoughts about me affect my mood.

In a nutshell, life is short – you may as well spend your time being happy, right?! So whatever it is that makes you happy (as long as you’re not hurting anyone) go and do it! Don’t worry about what anyone thinks, be you and accept yourself the way you are – because there is only one you in this world and the people who matter will always love you.

X