What’s one good thing that happened this week?
What’s one thing that didn’t really work for you, or that you feel you failed at?
If you were to write down just one positive thing that happened from your day, before you went to bed, at the end of the week you would have a list of 7 positive things!
At the end of the month, 31. And at the end of one year, 365 positive things.
How inspiring would that be? And you would be able to relate to them ALL!
So, are you up for the challenge? 7 days 7 positive things?
They don’t have to be monumental, perhaps just not having a headache, or getting a great parking spot. Maybe a stranger smiling at you when you felt down, or receiving an unexpected call or text from someone that brought you joy. It doesn’t matter how small you think it is, it just has to be positive.
You might be wondering why you would do this.
1. Because you can’t feel positive and negative emotions at the same time. It’s impossible.
2. How inspiring would a list of positive things be, that you related to when you hit your next bump in the road?
There is ALWAYS something we can be grateful for and it’s these good things we need to focus on when life happens the rest of the time.
You could say, ‘well that’s fine coming from you! You’re always upbeat, friendly, and disgustingly positive, but I bet you couldn’t see the positive when you lost Ben right?’ And yes, you’d be right.
There has been a multitude of times when I couldn’t see the positive nor was I interested in seeing it.
I have had plenty of days where I have been so angry with the world and with people that aren’t even in my life anymore (how pointless is that!). I have also spent precious hours and even days throwing my brain at Netflix, not answering my phone, and being physically and emotionally unavailable to anyone.
I have had more moments than I care to share of feeling intensely frustrated and completely overwhelmed (or completely underwhelmed) or just totally over it. – I’m just like you!
What I have learned is to give myself permission to have my moments BUT I put a time limit on them. I try to ensure my negative emotions have little or no impact on those around me.
I am very aware that I am responsible for the energy I bring into a space so why should others suffer just because I’m having a bad day?!
When Ben went on to his next adventure something clicked inside me. I became driven to make a difference and to make my time count. I also made a promise to Ben that I WOULD make something good come of this. Integrity is everything to us. If we say we are going to do something we do it. And if we make a promise to someone we keep it.
We are all human and we are allowed to feel totally crap sometimes and let’s face it, some situations call for it!
It’s not about never having negative feelings, but keep going once you’ve given yourself time to feel them. It is about remembering WHY you get out of bed every morning.
My driver is my promise to Ben. My reason is that every day I wake up alive I am compelled to make my time count and to make a difference.
There are so many things to be grateful for if you look for them. And there are so many opportunities to make a difference if you are open to them.
As I reflect on the last week, I have had moments that have caused me to stop and say ‘Thank you 😊!’
I have been reminded of how blessed and very lucky I am.
And I have marveled at just how thin the veil is between us and those that have passed.
A woman stood in line at the check-out in the supermarket. There was an elderly man in front of her and the assistant had just finished scanning his items. ‘I’m sorry sir, but your card has been declined.’ ‘Oh my!’ he exclaimed visibly confused. ‘I’m not sure what the problem would be, could you please try it again.’ The assistant tried again and once more the card was declined. ‘Do you have another card you would like to use? Or you can pay in cash?’ ‘I’m afraid I don’t’ he said.
The assistant waited for him to make a decision. The man looked bewildered at her and then at his groceries and was obviously embarrassed. ‘I’m so sorry, I just don’t know what to do.’
The woman behind him quickly leaned forward and said to the attendant, ‘Could you please process my order and add this gentleman’s groceries to my bill. I want to pay for them.’ The man and attendant both looked at her in surprise.
‘I can’t let you do that!’ the man exclaimed. The woman smiled and replied, ‘It’s already done.’ She turned to the assistant, ‘Please go ahead and scan my items.’
The man was clearly appreciative and sheepishly packed the groceries into his bags and waited for the woman to finish. As they walked out of the store together he thanked her repeatedly and said he didn’t know what else to say.
‘What’s your name?’ she asked. ‘Harry’ he replied. ‘So nice to meet you Harry!’
‘Can I at least get your name and details so I can give you the money back?’ he asked.
‘I don’t want the money back Harry. Let’s just say it’s a gift from Ben’.
Harry looked confused but before he could say anything further, she turned away and walked towards her car. She smiled and her heart overflowed with so much love. And ever so quietly she said, ‘Thanks Ben!’
Have an excellent week everyone!
Much Love
Dalya xx 💙