Chicken Soup...

Let's talk about positivity baby...yup. You will find a lot of that on my page. I'm trying to learn to live my best life, and the only way I can do that is changing perspective. I am no saint. I often get stuck in the same mind trap as everyone else. I'm sure you have all been there too. There are days I don't want to get out of bed (mostly because I'm comfy...pillow top mattress ALL DAYYYYY️!!!) or I can't find the motivation to work out and take care of myself (I'm one of those that hate getting ready for it but like it once I'm done). You all know exactly what I'm talking about. The "I don't wannas" hit and they hit hard! Lately I have had the "I don't wannas" with so many things but it's not a typical case. Lately my "I don't wannas" have been focused primarily on negativity. "I don't wanna" sit and do nothing when I see that there is so much that needs to change in the world. "I don't wanna" live my life focusing on the negativity and sadness I'm seeing in the media. "I don't wanna" forget how lucky I am to live the life I'm living.

Now what can you do when you have a particularly bad case? Flip the switch. Nourish yourself with a healthy dose of good old fashioned chicken soup for your soul. Now, you don't have to go out and legitimately find that amazing book series that so many of you probably sat with your butterfly clips in your hair and tattoo choker necklaces reading in private because you didn't want to admit your mother made a good book suggestion...was that just me? Okay, whatever, if you don't want to admit it I'll go along. (Just saying they were anecdotal masterpieces!) But what I am saying is find your chicken soup man! It doesn't matter what it is, or how you do it. Start feeding your soul.

For me, this is something I have to actively be conscious of. I am a human being of course and get frustrated and annoyed just like everyone else. Sometimes I get stuck in a rut and it's so hard to pull myself out of it. I am my own worst enemy and start comparing myself to other people ALL. THE. TIME. "God, I wish I looked like her", "I wish I was in a place to buy a house", "how do these people pay for student loans and go on a vacation every six months?". I bet we've all been there. There are times that I am so busy being envious of other people that I forget what I have going for me. You're probably thinking, "oh yeah, I do that too...", and you know what it's okay. The thing we need to be conscious of is acknowledging that everyone's timeline is different. Everyone's happy is different. Everyone's life IS DIFFERENT.

Now I know it may seem like I've gotten off topic my friends, but I promise you I haven't. You see, once I took the time to acknowledge that my life isn't going to look like everyone else's, that nagging feeling I get that I'm "doing it wrong" dissipates. This isn't an easy thing to do. Like any habit it takes time to reframe your thinking, but it's so worth it.

What can you do to stop focusing on the negative and truly changing your perspective? It's that chicken soup again. At one point in my life when things were really bad I had someone challenge me. "What was the challenge?" you ask. I'll tell you. At the end of each day, I had to document all of the things that made me happy. It could be anything! I made lists that included things like sheets just out of the dryer or belting out "The Climb" in my car, I spoke of moments with my friends and family, I had a pressed flower from a date with James, if it lifted my spirits I put it in there. It was my very own "Book of Happiness". Believe it or not, this helped so much more than I imagined, and when I was down I would just read one of my entries and just like that my perspective would change. It was MY chicken soup.

One of the things I'm trying to do is get a helping of that soul nourishing soup every day. Do I falter? Absolutely! But I'm trying and that's the important thing Here is one of the websites I've been frequenting to help me along the way.

http://thedailypositive.com/

http://www.givesmehope.com/

Surrounding myself with positivity is something I can do every day to make my life that much better. Am I a grumpy old curmudgeon sometimes? Oh, you better believe it! But every day I try more and more to be a little less full of vinegar and a lot more full of honey. Try it, you'll be surprised at what a little more positivity will do for you. That's all I got for you this week! Talk to you all soon and don't forget to SALL! <3

#chickensoup #FeedYourSoul #SpreadALittleLove