Each day when we wake up, we have two choices. We can choose JOY or we can choose to be miserable. Unlike happiness, which is based on our circumstances. Joy is internal and is based on God’s goodness, REGARDLESS of how good or bad things are.
For some people (I hate to admit this, but ME!) being positive during trying times doesn’t come naturally. And you know what, that’s ok! We CAN be positive, we just have to work a little bit harder to SEE the good. But one thing I can tell you is, that if you look for the good, you will find it!
There are a few things that will help you be more positive and joyful that I want to share with you. I pray they will help your days go better.
You can not live a positive life with a negative mind.
If you follow me on Instagram, I’m sure you’ve heard me say many times, if you have a negative mindset, you’ll live a negative life. The worst part is, that we don’t even realize sometimes what we are thinking is dictating our lives. Each day we feed ourselves so many negative thoughts without even realizing it, and then we wonder why we are so unhappy.
Simple things can help shift your mindset to focusing on the positives rather than the negatives. Things like; smiling at yourself when you look in the mirror and taking notice of things you like, rather than picking apart the things you don’t like. Below are some more ideas. I hope this will inspire you to be more conscious of your thought patterns. Because if you change your perspective, you will change your life!
1. Wake up and thank God for your day. Thank Him regardless of your feelings, because God’s promises are NOT based on our feelings. They are based on His truth!
2. Get up and get moving. If nothing else, just walk. Walk around your house, around the block, whatever you can do. Do it.
3. Look in the mirror and ask God to let you see yourself through HIS eyes. Speak words of truth over yourself. Read a Bible verse or just say something out loud that you like about yourself.
4. Read the Bible. Depending on your morning schedule, you might need to get up earlier to get your Bible reading in, but if you only have a few minutes, download a Bible app and just get into the Word for a few minutes. Something is better than nothing. Don’t tell yourself you don’t have time. I promise you, time spent in the Word is NEVER a waste!
5. Put on some worship music. And sing, or dance, journal, or cry out to the Lord. However you worship is between you and God. And again, time worshiping the Lord, is NEVER a waste!
6. Drink a BIG glass of water. Cold, hot, with lemon. Doesn’t matter. Drink it however you like it. But water just makes you feel good and is so good for you!
7. Smile! Smile at yourself. Smile at strangers. Smile at no one. It doesn’t matter. Just smile. Smiling will train your mind to be happy. And personally, I love smiling at strangers, because you never know how a simple smile might impact their day!
SEE THE GOOD.
Don’t just “look” for the good. SEE the good. Train your mind to see the good. The positive in all things and I promise you, after awhile you will start noticing yourself being more positive.
I encourage you to start this list TODAY. It is a new day. A fresh start. Doesn’t matter if it is the Monday of all Mondays, or the weekend. His mercies are new every single day. So MAKE it a great day!
xo, Elizabeth