Things were not easy for my family when I was a child.
My parents were good, decent, hard-working people who had been stretched to their limits by uncommon challenges–fleeing a civil war and migrating to a new country. I grew up knowing that I wanted a different life for myself. I spent my young adult years discovering how to create a joyful life, primarily through my educational, work and spiritual development.
It seemed as if the people who got along more easily were thinking more good thoughts and expressing more appreciation for the little things in life, developing confidence in themselves and others. I decided to be one of those people and became determined to live as if it were possible for me to have a different life than the circumstances I’d been born into–not just a good life, but to flourish.
When you flip the switch in your thinking, your brain gets the message and sends out new signals. In essence, our problem-solving ability and intelligence literally increase after immersion in positive and enriching influences. Recent studies suggest that lack of positivity may be more damaging to your health than smoking, excessive drinking, or obesity. It’s possible to improve our performance and our wellbeing by creating a clear mental picture of ourselves successfully using our strengths to handle a challenging situation.
Star performers learn to push aside their fear and adapt to challenges by engaging their strengths. They live with the conviction that life will work better if they are optimistic and bring their best selves to any situation. Make it your goal to harness the power of optimism by visualizing how you want your life to be!
“The integration of mindfulness with character strengths allows for the individual to become more aware of not only negative, troubling thoughts and feelings, but also to become more aware of positive thoughts, emotions and behaviors which activates cognitive processes that help individuals accept negative experiences more adaptively. Mindfulness opens the door to potential self-improvement and growth, while character strengths use is often the growth itself.” – Dr. Ryan M. Niemiec