Tag: positive thinking

Look for the Good
inspiration · self help · wisdom

Look for the Good

Essentially Better LivingLeave a comment

You have a choice every single day to live your life on autopilot, and let life happen to you, or you can intentionally look for the good in your life. We are all guilty of running our lives on autopilot in varying degrees. But the more that you will DECIDE to look for the good in your day and your life, the better your life will be.

Anyone can look for the negative, and what’s going wrong in your life. Just listen to the conversations around you as you go throughout your day. It’s probably a lot of complaining and negativity. I would argue that it’s our default setting. If you want to find good, you have to look for it, and you have to do it on purpose.

Be intentional as you go through your day. When everyone else is complaining, you look for the positive. When everyone else is finding the problem, you look for the solution. When others are looking for what’s wrong with other people, you compliment and look for what’s good in them. It’s like a switch you flip in your brain. The more you do it, the more it becomes your habit and how you operate on the regular.

They say it takes 30 days to form a habit, so be patient with yourself. Keep a post-it that says “Look for the Good” on the dash of your car, on your refrigerator, your bathroom mirror and your desk at work. This will serve as a visual trigger to remind you of your intention for those first 30 days. Once you make it through the first month, you may find you don’t need the post-it anymore, but if you do, that’s ok too.

Phone reminders are great too. Having a reminder pop up at the end of your day for you to list good things or positive aspects of your day each evening is a great practice – sort of like a gratitude practice.

You get what you look for, one hundred percent. You get to choose your mood and the kind of day you have, so might as well choose a good one. Look for the good.

Mantras and Quotes for a Happier Life
inspiration · personal development · relatable · self help · wisdom

Mantras and Quotes for a Happier Life

Essentially Better LivingLeave a comment

If you want to manifest a happier life, become a lifelong collector of positive quotes. Some positive quotes resonate on such a deep level that they become mantras. By definition, mantra is a word, phrase or sound that is repeated, often in prayer or meditation. Mantras help to focus the mind and to promote mental and spiritual well-being. Over time, positive quotes and mantras can weave themselves into your heart and soul. It can happen in such an integrated way that they change your life. You can access this valuable coping skill daily, even hourly.

Read on to learn some of the most life changing and impactful mantras and quotes for daily life. Anyone can learn these quotes and mantras, which starts by just reading them each day. Over time, they become a habit and a practice. The human mind tends to lean toward the negative. So you want to avoid living on autopilot, just thinking whatever thoughts fall into your head. You get to choose your thoughts, so you might as well choose good ones!

I’ve got this. This is such a common affirmation, that chances are you probably already say it multiple times a day. Even for seemingly menial tasks like carrying laundry downstairs and not wanting to drop anything. It is just a simple reminder in the moment that YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS.

“I get to instead” of “I have to.” How often do we say to ourselves that we HAVE TO do something? “I have to go to work/school.” “I have to take the kids to their appointment.” “I have to go to the store.” What’s interesting about the three examples, is that they’re privileges. If you’re honest with yourself, you may actually like doing those things. Saying “have to” to “get to” moves us from a place of dread to a place of gratitude.

I want to make myself proud. When you make the statement “I want to make myself proud,” it’s guiding you to alignment. It’s a reminder to be true to yourself and the type of person you want to be. At first, you might lean toward thoughts of guilt and areas where you have not felt proud of yourself. That’s normal! On a sheet of paper, make a two-column chart. On the left side jot down any of these areas. On the right, you list action steps of what you can do to make yourself proud in this area. Let’s say cleaning your house is an area you don’t always feel proud of. But you can break it down into small chores over time so that you will feel proud. You deserve a clean home. Your family deserves a clean space to live. And when you do things that move you in that direction, you feel proud.

What can I do today to make tomorrow even better? This one is a “magical sentence.” What would your life be like a year from now? Five, ten years from now – if you asked yourself this question every day? It’s one to cling to all day everyday, so much so that it can become your overall VIBE. Start thinking of things you can put into place now, so that tomorrow will run more smoothly. Engage in this practice throughout your day. We all probably do some version of planning ahead to put things in place for our future. Making this a daily mantra can change your life, adding so much peace and a sense of calm.

Assume positive intentions. If you’re someone who tends to be skeptical and cynical, this one is a game-changer. It reminds you to give others the benefit of the doubt. It will help you to become more trusting of others. It allows you to make the shift from assuming the worst in others to looking for the good. Which leads to the next mantra.

Look for the good. Look for the good in others, in yourself, in circumstances, and in difficulties. It will shift your negative thinking to a more positive way of looking at everything. You can place post-its with this quote in areas where you spend a lot of time. Each day, and even in the present moment, ask yourself what good can be found. The impact of this simple daily process will train your brain to look for (and find) a better life.

Things are getting better all the time. Say this to yourself daily. It will help you make this mindshift change: The things that lie ahead are going to be much greater than anything that you’ve left behind. Of course, no one is so naive as to think you won’t have adversity. But you should recognize and believe that the mind is powerful. Our thoughts are powerful. You want to manifest a great life for yourself and your family. Believing that the things your heart wants are coming is an important part of the process of becoming.

Who I am in Christ. This is a series of mantras that come from Joyce Meyer, author and speaker. How often do we get in our own heads? We say negative things about ourselves, focusing on all the things that we think are wrong with us. What if you spent that same mental energy focusing on what is right about you? What if you focused on who God says you are? You can find a sermon where Joyce Meyer shares these. Just do a simple Google or YouTube search for “Who I am in Christ Joyce Meyer.” Be prepared for an emotional reaction when you hear them aloud. You may tear up, the truth resonating with every fiber of your being. Again, you can find a similar and equally powerful list of mantras in this post. Consider printing them out and posting them somewhere you will see them everyday. Better yet, write them out. That way you can commit them to memory and hold them in your heart and mind.

My sincere hope is that you can find and apply any one or more of these mantras to your life. The consistent daily practice of repeating them will elevate your thinking. Your improved thinking will change your life. Namaste.