Is negativity a way of life for you? This positivity challenge may help you to enhance your life.

I often think to myself that I need to be less negative. I beat myself up over this.

When I finally sat down and thought about it, I realized I was not as negative as I thought I was. Yes, I have my moments, and those moments are loud—I mean loud. I yell, scream, cry, and throw temper tantrums. Unfortunately, my negative moments are not pretty.

Fortunately, I have many more positive moments than negative ones. For some reason, I hold on to negativity and let it define me.

I am unsure why I do this. Truly, in an hour, I would say at least 49 minutes are positive. Unfortunately, I will go into something negative during the other 11 minutes. I am unsure why. It is like my brain starts searching for something for me to get upset over. If it can’t find something in my recent past, it will go back 10, 20, or even 30 years to find something to get upset over. It craves negativity so much that it will invent things for me to get upset over. Need a positivity challenge much?

Spilled Milk

Once, I was in such a downward spiral that I cried over spilled milk. I pulled a carton of milk from the refrigerator and dropped it on the ground. It spilled everywhere. I started crying and having a temper tantrum over spilled milk. I had to laugh at myself when I realized what I was doing. Yay! I broke the spiral. If I can catch myself during these times of negativity, I will laugh at myself. It works.

I know there are many things in this world to get upset over, but there are many more things to smile at. All we have to do is look. This could be why so many people post pictures or videos of children doing something cute or loving animals. I believe many of us want to be happy and live on the positive side of life. Life gets in the way. What?

Greener Grass

How can life get in the way of being positive?

We are so consumed with the things we must get done. The things we think life is about. Working, cleaning, and studying. The competition of life. Really, why should life be a competition? Do we need to compare our lives with someone else’s life? Wouldn’t it be better to find the positive things in our lives to be happy about and be happy for the other person and the life they have? My guess is they are probably envious of someone else’s life, too, maybe even yours. It’s like that old saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” You go to the other side and look back at where you came from, and wow, the grass is greener over there now. This is the perfect time for a positivity challenge.

Mindfulness through Visualization & Meditation

There are so many ways to be positive, but Being Mindful is the best way. When I hear mindful, meditation comes to mind. That is how so many people learn to control their minds. I still have not mastered meditation. Some days, I do well at it, but most days, my mind wanders off on its own.

I do believe meditation is the most helpful tool out there. It is a shame that most people are not taught to meditate as children. We learn better as children than as adults. All those quiet times in school when we were told to put our heads down on our desks could have been better utilized for meditation. Teaching children how to do a Positivity Challenge is a great way to help children with their self-esteem.

Visualization of the outcome that you want is another great tool. If you want your life to change, you can visualize it how you want it. I use visualization far better than meditation. I feel that visualization is a form of meditation. The difference is you get to control the direction it goes. To me, it is like daydreaming. I use it when I am sitting in a Dentist’s chair. I was having a root canal one time and spent the time visualizing the life I wanted. When the Dentist finished, he said to me, I have never had anyone so calm in my chair. I smiled because I enjoyed my time off, visualizing exactly what I wanted.

What’s better than Gratitude?

Gratitude is by far the best way to stay positive. Even if you don’t think you have anything to be grateful for, you do. You just have to look, and you will find something. The fact that you can look is something to be grateful for. The water you drink, the air you breathe, the food you eat. All things to be grateful for. Keep looking, and you will keep finding. This beautiful world is enough to be grateful for.

I have this new little trick I use to stay positive. I place my open palms on top of my head lightly and then say positive words. The first and last words are always gratitude. I also use words like love, bliss, joy, creativity, kindness, positivity, energy, appreciation, peace, grace, and faith. There are other words, too, but you get the jest. Find the words that resonate with you. You will know they resonate because you feel a tingle in your crown chakra. I do this every night and morning in bed. I came across this when I was trying something else. This was just something I chose to try at the moment. I am so grateful I did. The tingle I got the minute I said gratitude. I knew I was on to something.

Challenge

So, let’s get on to the Positivity Challenge. It can transform your life.

I challenge myself and you, the reader, to stay positive for 21 days. Twenty-one days because it takes twenty-one days to form a habit.

Some things you can implement to meet this challenge are:

Meditation / Visualization

Use your open palms on top of your head with positive words.

Catch yourself before you go too far off the deep end. Laugh at yourself.

Check the grass from both sides of the fence.

Look for things to smile about; when you smile, you show gratitude.

Do not beat yourself up if you find yourself on the negative side of things. Be glad you caught yourself and shift to the positive side.

I am sure some of you have wonderful ideas for meeting this positivity challenge. Please feel free to comment.

Wishing you bliss!