How do you talk to yourself? When our actions lead to bad outcomes, we blame ourselves. That is OK if it leads us to reflect on our behavior and do better next time.
But the language we use when we blame ourselves is sometimes much worse than we would ever use with other people. If a colleague makes a mistake, we don’t call her stupid. But we might call ourselves stupid. Don’t do that. Talk to yourself at least as politely as you talk to others.
Denmark just won the world championship in Handball, defending their title from 2019, and all of my country is celebrating.
Even if your team did not just win a championship, there is always something to celebrate. You just need to look at little harder, because the media tends to focus on awful stories that can get a lot of clicks. Make an effort to find media sources and people that celebrate positive stories. Look at the social media you are using and spend more time on those with a positive vibe. If you come up blank occasionally, worldsbestnews.org is always good for an uplifting story.
Celebrating good news decreases stress and anxiety and has many positive effects on your body. Find something good every day.
When we have some time to spare, or just need a distraction, we tend to mindlessly scroll down the news feed on our phones. This year, that has not been a positive experience.
Unless you take control, your device is going to serve you the content that most people have reacted to, and this year that has been coronavirus, fake news, wildfires, and disasters.
Instead of passively scrolling down your feed, actively choose a positive information source. You might look at an inspiring Instagram account, a Pinterest board, or surf Airbnb imagining where your next trip will go once the pandemic lockdowns are over. It’s your choice. Feed your brain something positive.
After a long period of bad news, we’re now also seeing glimmers of light. Two of the coronavirus vaccine candidates have shown surprisingly good results with a 90%+ efficiency, and there are another ten vaccines in the final testing phase before approval.
Make sure you appreciate it when you hear good news. If you have a daily news habit, set your intention to find a positive story before you start reading. News stories on death and disaster, unfortunately, get the most clicks, so there are more of those. But the positive stories are there, too. Look for them.
Notice the positive things in the world. I know that almost every president-elect in the history of the United States has promised to be the president for all Americans, but that was still a good and inspiring speech.
Listening to uplifting messages raises your spirit and gives you the energy to make a positive difference for yourself and the people around you. Listening to negative media pulls you down. Be careful what you listen to.
