One of the most important parts of successfully directing your life in the way you want it to go and embracing happiness requires the painful process of change. Change doesn’t always feel good in the moment, which is why choosing it is a process that requires hard work. Getting some advice is a great way to start, but don’t forget Allen area therapists that can further augment your path toward positive change. Here are a few principles to work into your daily thought patterns that can help you progress toward positive change.
Redefining Optimism
Optimism isn’t a static principle or emotion, and changes with different situations. However, what optimism consistently provides is the will to continue to survive. Thrive Global talks about the idea of “tragic optimism,” which means how optimism itself changes situationally. You could be dealing with extreme personal tragedy, such as family death, or perhaps you just had a big professional setback. The core idea is to face this trial by not giving into doubt and fear, and remaining optimistic, despite how severe the problem. The true meaning of optimism is to believe that you will get through a time of turmoil.
Embracing Weakness
No one wants to admit weakness. From childhood into adulthood, we’re taught that weakness is something that needs to be eradicated and is unacceptable. However, in reality, accepting powerlessness is an essential part of change. Inc. takes the advice of successful entrepreneurs, stating that a huge part of successfully changing your life is to accept your journey in all its facets, including both surrender and weakness. This is the only way to reach your full potential, and happens with self forgiveness, optimism, and surrounding yourself with only trusted friends and advisors who have your best interests at heart.
Realizing that Perspective is Relative
Realizing that perspective is relative and dependent on context is one of the most important parts of choosing change. This can be a painful process, because it makes you reorder your entire worldview, but the outcome can be bountiful. For example, a travel blogger on Odyssey recounted how a mission trip to Guatemala changed her perspective on what’s important in everyday life, such as seeing the contrast between the complaints of privileged people that now seemed petty, versus the struggles she saw in another nation. The impact of this revelation led her to view the world in a completely revised way, even though everything except her perspective stayed the same. The key thing to take away from this idea is that perspective is a powerful thing even though it’s intangible. While you may not be able to control world events or certain things in your life, you’re always holding the reins of your own perspective.
Details Have a Big Impact
Change also comes in small doses, and as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Thought Catalog discusses how focusing on daily small moments of happiness can play just as big a role in change as major life decisions by establishing a baseline of happiness. This baseline acts as a sort of foundation, so that as your life has its highs and lows, that center line is comprised of positivity and hope, rather than just returning to a flat line neutral emotional state once each dip or rise ends.
Registering Thoughts and Realigning Emotions
Much like weakness, we’re taught to push our negative thoughts away and not let emotions hit us at all. However, this is counterproductive. Huffington Post states that it’s important to recognize and validate your own thoughts, and understand how they make you feel, both physically and mentally. Thoughts themselves aren’t just memories or ideas, but also result in actual intangible emotions. This is the key to realigning your thoughts, and in turn, your life, to the positive.
As I Choose Change says, rewriting your own life narrative requires self questioning and assessing your own behaviors. With the help of an Allen therapist, you can start this process today and be well on your way to rewriting your own life story in the way that you want by choosing change.
