Your day may be the crappiest day ever, but at least one good thing happens to all of us each and every day. The challenge, which if we try it will reap rewards for us in the future, is to identify the one positive thing that happens each day. Before I get going here, let me talk a little bit about positive and negative thinking.
To a little about this, I will be borrowing from the books The Power of Positive Thinking and Think and Grow Rich to help make my points. The first thing that I would like to say is that focusing on the negative things in life is easy, hence it's a common thing for all creatures on this beautiful planet, not just humans and not just you. Consider this; a dog that spends its first two years in a negative, abusive environment will carry that negativity with it for the remainder of its short life. But people can choose to not let the negative influence them beyond a given moment, hour, month, year or decade that the negativity occurs in. And this is what truly separates us from the animals. It is these people that you hear rags to riches stories from and have "Based on True Events" movies and books created to tell their story.
To a little about this, I will be borrowing from the books The Power of Positive Thinking and Think and Grow Rich to help make my points. The first thing that I would like to say is that focusing on the negative things in life is easy, hence it's a common thing for all creatures on this beautiful planet, not just humans and not just you. Consider this; a dog that spends its first two years in a negative, abusive environment will carry that negativity with it for the remainder of its short life. But people can choose to not let the negative influence them beyond a given moment, hour, month, year or decade that the negativity occurs in. And this is what truly separates us from the animals. It is these people that you hear rags to riches stories from and have "Based on True Events" movies and books created to tell their story.
Being positive or negative are habits of thought that have a very strong influences on life for not only you, but those you interact with at any given time, even if that interaction was but for a moment. The hardest part about these habits, as with any habit, is they can be hard to change. But all change starts with the first step and then another and then another.
With all of the negativity around us, especially for those of us dealing with chronic pain and fatigue, positive change can be particularly challenging, but not impossible. For those experiencing chronic fatigue and pain every single negative things that happens to us can take ten positive things to counter that negative. And while this particular exercise is not going to be a cure all, it is a first, and ultimately important step to changing the way our minds prioritize positive over negative events.
Are you ready for a change?
Positive and negative are opposing forces. And with opposing forces they repel each other. So we are given a choice, do we go one way, with the flow negativity or do we go the other way? The decision is simple when choosing between positive and negative. Your decision must be based on the answer to the following question.
Do the rewards of choosing one way out weight the consequences?
In other words, does choosing the negative provide you more reward than consequence. Many times this question, while simple, can be very difficult to answer. As it can seem very rewarding to flow with the negative, but it is always also the easier way to go as it takes less work, even though is consumes more energy. If it's easy to do, it isn't likely worth doing.
Do the rewards of choosing one way out weight the consequences?
In other words, does choosing the negative provide you more reward than consequence. Many times this question, while simple, can be very difficult to answer. As it can seem very rewarding to flow with the negative, but it is always also the easier way to go as it takes less work, even though is consumes more energy. If it's easy to do, it isn't likely worth doing.
I know that it can be hard to be positive in a time when pain levels are through the roof, fatigue is constantly wearing us down while flares seem to be never ending and Fibro-Flatulance (Fibro-Fog) has us and those around looking for the person we once were. But, think of this as therapy for the negative-ninny in all of us.
This is not a reward in the sense that after you write your daily positive reflections you will suddenly feel better, although there can be some therapy, the real value is that as you can see things from a different perspective, a positive perspective, your can begin reprogramming your brain. I challenge you to try this. Once a day, everyday, add one positive thing that happened with your day; everyday.
This is not a reward in the sense that after you write your daily positive reflections you will suddenly feel better, although there can be some therapy, the real value is that as you can see things from a different perspective, a positive perspective, your can begin reprogramming your brain. I challenge you to try this. Once a day, everyday, add one positive thing that happened with your day; everyday.
Reality is the mirror of your thoughts. Choose well what you put in front of the mirror because while a positive attitude brings strength, energy and initiative the negative attitude weakens us spiritually, mentally and physically and consumes energy at an exponential rate as compared to positive thinking and reduces our initiative to nothing more than a failed dream.
Over time you will train your mind to think in terms of 'possible' and 'can be done'. To do this you need to know your limitations. Your limitations are used not as a negative, but as a measure to set your goals by. Are you dissatisfied with yourself because you cannot run as fast as an Olympian? The answer should be a resounding "No". Why, because an Olympian has been training their whole life to be an Olympian and you have not, therefore it is unreasonable to expect that you could compete with an Olympian in a race. This does not mean you cannot start training to be an Olympian, but you have to know your limitations, even in your training to be an Olympian, if you are going to be successful.
For those of us suffering from chronic pain and fatigue, we cannot do everything we used to, much like those who are bound to a wheelchair. Christopher Reeves is a great example. After his accident, which set the rest of his life in motion as a quadriplegic, Mr. Reeves chose to focus on not the what he couldn't do, but what he was able to do moving forward. While he would not be able to star as Superman again, he was able to star in a Superman television show called Smallville. He was also in a couple of other television shows; The Practice and Rear Window. He also produced, directed and wrote for several shows. He also, and most importantly, founded the Christopher Reeves Foundation and used his celebrity to get funding to research spinal chord injuries.
None of this was easy. Everything he accomplished was done with a severe limitation. All of this was accomplished by a man that was permanently bound to a wheel chair without the use of his body below his neck. Mr. Reeves was able to achieve all of this because he refused to focus on the negative side of his new limitations, but rather he focused on what he could do within his limitations and he executed on it. His limitations did not defeat him.
None of this was easy. Everything he accomplished was done with a severe limitation. All of this was accomplished by a man that was permanently bound to a wheel chair without the use of his body below his neck. Mr. Reeves was able to achieve all of this because he refused to focus on the negative side of his new limitations, but rather he focused on what he could do within his limitations and he executed on it. His limitations did not defeat him.
We are no different from someone like Christopher Reeves, except in our thinking . We have a finite amount of energy, mental capacity and strength that is allotted to us each and every day. And each day the amount of energy, mental capacity and strength varies; sometimes more and sometimes less. So each day we have to set attainable goals that are within our limitations for that day and we must execute on those goals. It is through this method that we will not overcome chronic pain and fatigue, but succeed in spite of it. Let me say that again; It is through positive thinking, realistic goal setting and execution of those goals that we will not overcome chronic pain and fatigue, but succeed in spite of it.
Again, this is not meant to be the cure all for dealing with fatigue and pain, but rather one step in the right direction that will have to be followed by a another step in the same direction, followed by another. Bad days will happen. I am actually having one right now. Bad days happen. They have happened. They could be happening now. They will happen in the future. Venting about bad days is important as it allows us to hear compassion from another person and this is therapeutic, even if it is through an otherwise impersonal medium like a social media support group. I am not suggesting that you stop doing that. There is benefit to it. But you need to balance that negativity expression with an expression of gratitude and acknowledge the positive things in your life, daily.
So are you game to add a little positive to your world and the world of others around you?
I will start:
Today I discovered my daughter is doing well in school and my wife is healthy.
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