Dearest readers and writers, struggling today to get my Write 28 Days 02.20.2022 post up. This is the 20th day of the #write28days challenge. It is nigh on bedtime and I got nothing. And it’s not that I don’t have plenty I can write about. I just don’t have the energy to write up something today. So, what to do?
Write 28 Days 02.20.2022
I decided to consult the February journaling prompts that Maria provides at the Krafty Planner. In particular, the prompt for 02.17, which asked:
How does focusing on positivity affect your mood?
Positivity is something I surely struggle with. Especially in regard to my own life. So, that was a tough question for me to contemplate. Coincidentally, we finally returned to church today for the first time since the beginning of January. The message must have been designed just for me. Shannon Neiman, the associate pastor, reminded us that:
What comes out of your mouth should be what you believe. What is the language of your life?
Those ideas seem analogous (how ’bout that big word) or interdependent to me. If you have faith that everything is going to be okay, You speak that over your life, your outlook is bound to be positive and your mood upbeat. My trouble is it seems that every day there is a new problem or new set of problems. So, when I awake each morning, I often ask ‘what is today going to bring?’ Not in anticipation that the day will be glorious and blessing-filled. But fully expecting more struggles compounding the struggles from the day before.
Changing My Mindset
Whenever I start to spiral downward with negativity, Paul will often intervene by saying “Everything is going to be okay.” Rarely do I find that reassuring because it seems to me that there is going to be something else, then something else. Everything is going to be okay…maybe. Sooner or later. But why does everything have to be so hard and such a fight first.
Paul is right, everything does wind up being okay, one way or another. When he said it today, after church, I realized in doing so, he is doing what Pastor Neiman suggests we all should do. We should believe and speak over our lives exactly what we want for our lives. PC is wanting everything to be okay and is speaking that over the situations in our lives.
I need to change my mindset. Instead of forecasting more trouble over my life, I need to anticipate good.
Words for the Wise
In order to help change my mindset, I need to remember that no weapon fashioned against me will succeed, Isaiah 54:17. I must speak to the mountains in my life in order to overcome those tribulations, Mark 11:23. And finally, that whatever I believe over my life, and therefore speak over my life, I will have, 2 Corinthians 4:13.
- know who you are in Christ: remember that God is on your side
- speak to the mountain in your life: voice what you want over your life; speak with boldness and authority
- believe that those things you speak over your life will come to pass: have faith, develop your faith, grow your faith; input God’s words into your life, develop a relationship with God
- act as if you have already scaled your mountain: rather than dwelling about your problem, live and plan as if that mountain has already moved
Put into Practice
I really, really want to get a handle on my negativity. Every morning, before stepping out of bed, I need to adjust my outlook and believe, as PC says, that everything will be okay.
2 The good acquire a taste for helpful conversation;
bullies push and shove their way through life.
3 Careful words make for a careful life;
careless talk may ruin everything.
Now to do it. Now to do it.
Your Turn
Are you a positive person? Do you speak positivity over your life? Begin each day anticipating, expecting only good? I wouldn’t say I am exactly a negative person. I am a realist. But I want to switch that to positivity. Think a good thought for me as I begin to move this mountain!!
Hugs and kisses,
I try so hard to be a positive person but when I can only see bad things coming it is very hard to shift that mindset isn’t it?
Thank goodness for your faith which shows that you that you have support always to help you through the toughest times. And thank goodness for your lovely PC who knows just what needs to be done to help.
Take care x
I think I am a pretty positive person but not in that Pollyanna way; I do have a bit of realism mixed in there. But I have realized that my perception of things can be drastically altered based on whether I look at something as a obstacle or an opportunity to learn something too.
I’m often a worrier and not a positive thinker.
Leslie,
I totally was a negative person. Saw what was wrong in everything, was critical of everything, always worried and expected the worst. I am much better now. It has taken time and effort to shift my mindset, but it was a choice I made. Affirmations help. Yes, they can be a bit corny… and make sure they are positive. No “don’t”, no “stop”, no “try”. Daily gratitude helps me, as does thinking about little moments of joy every day. Slowing down on things I do has helped too. I still do lots but not as crazy as in the past. I do believe that whatever we focus on, we get. So when you focus on problems, you get more of them. When you expect struggles, you get them. It is a mindset shift. Not easy, but I think it is worth it. Good luck.
I try to be optimistic and I think I succeed most days, but there are certainly times when I become overwhelmed and anxious about all the hardships in life. Faith has often helped me through these times. I try to remind myself it is all temporary.