Life is good. Even when it doesn’t feel like it is, it is. Each day has beauty and goodness in it. The key to seeing both is shifting your mindset from pessimism to one of gratitude and possibility. This is not the kind of mentality most people are born with. Human beings are wired to see to what’s wrong with a situation as opposed to what might be right about it. We often look for the bad in people rather than acknowledge the good they’ve done or will do. To free yourself of this emotional death sentence requires three things. First is a conscious choice to see everyone and everything in life as good. The second is a commitment to nurture this mentality daily. And the third is surrounding yourself with a group of people who will lovingly call you out when you’re not seeing all the good in your life. They give you no space to be a victim or make others out to be villains. And that leaves you only the role of champion to play.
When I take an objective look back on the happy and not so happy periods of my life, I see the good in both. The happy times were filled with fun. And the challenging periods were filled with lots of lessons. There was good in both for different reasons. They are obvious during the happy times and more difficult to identify during trying times. But with a grateful mindset developed through daily practice, you can see the good even when life is far from perfect. And since life is rarely perfect, you need to learn how to see the good in everything if you want to be happy.
I spent too much of my precious life being a victim and making others out to be victims. By blaming my stepfather for a challenging home life, I made him out to be a bad person. In doing so, I became the victim. This went on for three decades. I didn’t talk to my stepfather for years and blamed him for a lot of things. And he wasn’t the only one. I did this to others. Thankfully I went to a personal development seminar in 2007 that helped me replace victimhood with a commitment to personal responsibility and love. Now I see the good in people even when their words and actions suggest there’s none there. I consider myself extremely fortunate to be part of a community who sees the same in me even when I am far from being my best.
To see the good in people and every situation takes practice. A lot of practice. But if you want to be happy and healthy, I encourage you to put the time in because life is easier and sweeter when being loving and seeing the good is your go to response to everything.
Stronger Mindset!
Keith