The Power of Positive

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy.  It’s true.  It is obvious, if you have been reading my posts, that I have been having a difficult summer.  But what am I doing for myself to make it better?   The sad answer is nothing.  Ironically, I know things that make me feel better when I am down, I’m just not doing them.  Any of them.  After writing my last depressing blog and realizing that was at least three in a row, I figured it is time to step up and take control again.  I started by making a list of little things that help:

Get enough sleep

Read

Be in the Sun

Exercise

Listen to Music

Eat Healthy Food

Limit Alcohol

Chat with friends (especially others who truly understand)

Play with my dogs

Do something with a friend

Dress nice/wear make-up

Take a bath

Go for a walk

Plan something/Organize something (anything) 

None of these little things, on their own, are going to help me feel better.  Alone, each one might just feel like a chore.  But together, little things add up to big things.  If I want to stay off anti-depressants, I need some big things to change.   

Next I found an app that tracks my little things.  The little things that I need to make into new habits.  I put that in my iPad (already organizing something, check that off the list).  Then I started thinking about ways to make these habits easy to develop and fun to do.  Some of them are no effort, like listening to music.  There is nothing stopping me from playing music at my desk at work.  I just don’t think to do it.  Other things can be combined to happen at the same time, like reading or exercising in the sun.  Or exercising and walking the dogs.  Or exercising with a friend (and a dog, IN THE SUN!).  See how this is working?   

There is no way I will be able to do every single thing every single day, and most of these things don’t need to be done everyday, but by using an app to reinforce my plan, I hope to be able to see where I could improve.  I also would like to track bigger things.  Not daily habits, but things I should be doing regularly, that make me feel better like kayaking, going to the beach, learning new things, and taking short trips.  Those things that remind me that it is worth it to come out of the safety of my little cocoon in my house and join the real world.    

 

In another twist of coincidence (and we all know I don't believe in coincidence), my best friend, who has been going through a rough time of her own, through an entirely different process and with an entirely different catalyst, came to almost exactly the same conclusion:  that the way to make positive things happen is to do positive things and think positive thoughts.  Literally on the same day that I made the resolution to myself, she did the same.  This week our daily conversations have turned from a litany of complaints, counter-complaints and attempts to comfort and help each other (when neither of us had much to offer) into a snowball of positive thoughts and ideas, full of energy and optimism.  Breathing the air around me has gotten easier. 

I know this isn’t a magic bullet, but at least I’ll be doing something to help myself.  I know that I will still have down days to go with the up days, but if the power to negative can spiral out of control, than why shouldn't the power of positive?