First, let me say that my Mom is not a pessimist. My family will often use humor and perspective when feeling stressed or down, and now that my husband and I have parted ways with our comfort zone; quitting our 9 to 5’s, selling and donating our possessions, and hitting the road for the foreseeable future, stress and feelings of being overwhelmed sometimes come up.
Being human, these feelings are certainly normal, especially when facing the unknown. However, the way people respond and react to these feelings is what makes the difference. Moving forward with positivity, love and gratitude, and a little humor, can absolutely change your perspective.
My Mom once sent me a greeting card out of the blue after telling her I was going through, what I perceived to be a “difficult” time. She wrote, “Stop stressing, things will probably get worse.” The smile that broke across my face instantly made it feel better, but more importantly, gave me a slap back to reality and out of my spiral of negative thinking. Was she suggesting that my life was actually going to get worse?! Of course not. She was saying that as long as I’m alive and breathing, how bad could things really be?
There are people in this world that deal with truly traumatic and devastating events that they survive, so when a little stress or negativity arises, I like to remember how lucky I am to be alive, to have the opportunities I’ve had, and to have the freedom and ability to control my own outcome and attitude.
Stay positive, keep a smile on your face, be open to different perspectives, and ask if things are really as bad as they seem in those moments.
