What goes up must come down. Have faith, tides change. Tough times don’t last, tough people do. Fall seven times, stand up eight. I can continue if you’d like, but I think you get the point…
We are exposed to an influx of inspirational quotes on a daily basis. Don’t get me wrong, I love quotes and do find them very motivating during hard times. But the quotes that really stick with me are the ones I have experience with. The ones I make my own and apply to my life. The ones that put things into perspective.
“Focus on the good” is something that was ingrained into my large head since birth. My mom has always been the positive voice in a house of sarcastic and usually negative people. Whether it was school, sports, relationships, etc., she always found the bright side of the situation. If I’m being honest, it wasn’t until the past few years that I actually took her words to heart. After my rough transition to college I relied on this quote to get through the day. Sometimes my “good” was as small as going to yoga. Sometimes it was a realization that I’m receiving an incredible education (something not everyone gets to do).
Source
What I love about this quote is that you actively have to participate for it to “work.” You are taking action. You are deciding to be happy regardless of external circumstances. I know well enough that some days/weeks/months, for lack of a better word, suck. They are just exhausting emotionally, physically and mentally and at times never seem to have an ounce of “good.” Last week I had one of those sucky days and nothing seemed to go right. I didn’t do well on a test, I missed a meeting with my boss, I didn’t have a great run in the morning and I barely slept. Now my bad day was obviously not bad compared to that of other people in the world, but it was rough for me.
As I was complaining venting to my mom via text, she again brought me back to reality:
“Not every run is good, but at least you ran” (<– Duh, why can’t I think like that?)
“Good thing you have a later class tomorrow so you can sleep in!”
“One test won’t kill you and it’s only a grade.”
There it is…the good. I’m still growing up and often need my mom’s reminder that life really isn’t so bad. In fact, it’s pretty darn great. I’m getting better at recognizing when my thoughts turn negative and reversing them by myself. But it’s a conscious, active reversal. I don’t know if it’s something that will ever become natural for me, but is it for anyone? Maybe one day I can hope to instinctively find the positives, but for now, I’m proud of myself for just trying.
A few years ago I painted this quote on a canvas and it rests on a shelf near my bed. A nice reminder when I wake up and go to sleep.
