Learning to Think Positive

Wealth Is A Matter Of Perspective

Last night my little 6-year-old daughter came up to me and put her arms around me. I was feeling sort of low over the fact that I have to work outside of the home some, rather than just being a stay-at-home mom. My daughter gave me a little squeeze and said, "Mom, I know why we're rich."

I looked into her big blue eyes. "Oh, you think we're rich?"

"We are rich," she said. "Because you have me and my three brothers, and we are all so sweet."

My heart just melted. She was right. I am rich. When I am thinking like I should be, my thoughts are positive ones, and my final thoughts each evening are prayerful ones. "Thank you for my husband and my sweet little children. Thank you for giving me the privilege of being a wife and a mother. Thank you for my home and a yard for the children to play in. Thank you for a warm bed, the safety and health of my little ones, the freedom to choose my lifestyle, to be an American, enough food to eat. Thank you for my health." And the list goes on.

Don't Entertain Negative Thoughts For A Second

Negative thoughts are like weeds in a garden. Let them alone and they take over. The fact is, it takes work to be rid of them. It's easy to look at upbeat, positive people and think, "Oh they were blessed with such a positive outlook on life. I wish I could be like that." In reality, most extremely positive people put a lot of work into being positive thinkers! They make an effort to generate positive energy and they let it diffuse into all areas of their life. It puts a smile on their face and helps their families and those around them to be more positive as well. A positive thinker. It's what I aspire to be.

For the most part my efforts to be a positive person are successful. I find that it's my habitual negative thoughts that get the best of me, and I can apply them to anything!! They are like recordings that I can play at any time, anywhere.

"Why does my life have to be like this?"

"If only I had chosen a different path, then I would not be in this situation."

Those are just a couple of negative thought patterns, but as you can see, they can be applied to any situation. They represent a very damaging way of thinking!

Have A Positive Outlook and Work Toward Positive Change

I am trying very hard to "catch" myself whenever I am tempted to think in a negative way. Example: It's 7:30 a.m. and I am on my way to work with my two youngest children in tow so that I can drop them off at their little school. I realize I am sulking because I have to go to work and I am not at home. This leads to the thought that I cannot be in my garden for any real time that day. I think of the school lessons we have had in the garden in the past. I then begin to get frustrated and angry that I cannot homeschool all of my children all the time because I must work some. This sort of negative thinking can be a vicious cycle and it's an energy that the children pick up on. What kind of message am I sending to them about embracing their own lives and making the most of every opportunity that comes their way?

Reality check: Wake up and realize that this is your life! I am not saying to just take life lying down and accept every little thing that comes your way without even giving it any thought!! The beauty of being free is being able to change things that we are truly unhappy with, but only an island unto himself can change just about anything without repercussions that will affect others. Most of us must make choices that are not 100% appealing to us because we must factor in what we get in exchange and how it will impact for good those in our lives. Thus, we make decisions based on how they will affect our spouses and our children and sometimes even our friends, and we often must do things we don't want to do! Even your children must do things they don't want to. In a country swirling with processed foods, what 6-year-old wants a garden-fresh salad complete with spinach leaves?

So let's rewind and fix my negative thinking on that drive to work. It's 7:30 a.m. and I am on my way to work with my two youngest children in tow so that I can drop them off at their little school. I use this precious time to remind my children to be safe and do their very best in school. I tell them how fortunate they are to be free to go to their school to learn and sing and play. I tell them that they can get in touch with me if they really need me, and I will be there. I notice the sun shining and make a mental note to take 20 minutes in my garden in late afternoon with my children, or I give thanks for the rain that will make my plants healthy and ready for a beautiful show come weekend. I use the time to think through tasks that must be done at home and how to best organize them to give us all more time as a family. The positive energy rubs off on everyone!

I have found that one of the best positive-thinking strategies is to not get bogged down in the "why me" moment, but realize that change is constant. I try to focus on events or days ahead with anticipation and happiness. Yes, it may be Monday morning and you have four days to go to reach the weekend, but don't think like that! You can say that it's Monday, which gives you four evenings to plan what you are going to do with your glorious Saturday and Sunday ahead so that you can make the most of those days!

We only get one life. I don't want to spend mine hating or being disgruntled with everything that has come my way. I want to embrace my life and learn from all the facets of my life. I want to reach out and help others who are struggling. I want to be interested in the lives of others and all they have to teach me. I want the grace to bear the things that are not that easy to bear, and the courage to change things that I really cannot accept and that truly are not best for those who are depending on me.

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Quotations

"A rich child often sits in a poor mother's lap."
Danish proverb

"I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand."
Chinese proverb

"No life is so hard that you can't make it easier by the way you take it.
Ellen Glasgow

"All things are possible until they are proved impossible--even the impossible may only be so, as of now."
Pearl S. Buck

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."
Helen Keller