Regardless of what’s going on in your life and how you feel about it, it’s still your life. Whether you’re making the best of it or allowing yourself to suffer in misery, you’re making a choice about how to feel and in what kind of energy you’re living.
You know your life span is not endless and the years are numbered. Why allow yourself to spend precious time dwelling in negativity? Why don’t you spend more time appreciating the people, places, and things you love, despite the hardships? Imagine what your life could be like if you knew how to have a good time — even during a bad time.
It would be nice if you could sidestep life’s hurdles, but that’s not reality. You can’t avoid the challenges, but you can decide how you respond. Like the saying goes, you can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails.
But how do you embrace life, bad times and all?
The answer is mindset. First, you need to believe it’s possible to have a good time while you’re going through a tough time.
Maybe your usual response to bad times has been to hunker down in fear and anxiety. Maybe you stay there until things improve and you’re able to process the situation. But for many, that time never comes. They stay stuck in the dark emotions and feel paralyzed from ever moving on.
Either way, the days pass by. Time doesn’t care whether you’re skipping in joy or weeping in despair. As humans, we’re designed to feel all the feelings. The reason you love to soak up the sunny days is because you’ve lived through the rainy ones. But finding yourself stuck in the rain too often is when you need to dig into your mindset.
Enjoying your life is a matter of simply choosing to. How you feel about your circumstances is up to you. How long you sit in the storm, and whether you allow it to drown you, is a matter of choice.
Let that soak in. Instead of feeling like you’re at the whim of a mean and spiteful universe bringing you one misfortune after another, flip your mental switch and tell yourself what is happening to you is actually happening for you. Life lessons are here for you to learn from and triumph over. You are the captain of your mindset ship. It’s up to you to adjust your sails and make the most of whatever direction the wind is blowing.
Finding “the bright side” is an intentional decision. Starting every morning choosing to find moments of gratitude and laughter, even amidst turmoil, is a choice. There are always blessings to count. Make it your job to find them.
Mindset is a muscle. The more you practice using it, the easier it becomes. When you have an opportunity to enjoy moments of love or laughter, take them. Don’t pass up opportunities for fun because you feel guilty or because you think you should be suffering. Instead, invite moments of happiness into your days.
Believe it’s possible for you to have a good time even while you’re in the middle of a bad time. You don’t want to look back later with regret you let so many days pass by as you chose to wallow in self-pity.
Open your heart and decide to enjoy the good parts of every single day you are alive.
