Good mental health depends upon focussing on the little things!
It’s the small little gifts we get, find, experience, the little blessings, tiny moments of fun like a ray of sunshine that can keep our mental health, keep it healthy.
Recently I was out for a drive and looking for a metal table that could be outside in the rain, by my fire pit. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. This was to be a practical and pretty purchase.
Several of the places I had been looking, had really nice items for sale however it was way out of my price range. Feeling discouraged decided to head home. Empty-handed and frustrated. It seemed like any disappointment these last few months was intensified with Covid!
As I was driving home thinking about last summer in search and again this year, how am I going to find the right outdoor patio table? The reason for the metal table is that it could be sprayed bright orange, which is my favourite colour and withstand most of the elements of seasons.
Along the drive, and as if guided by the gentle hand, looked to my right and there was a table, perched perfectly at the end of someone’s driveway with a sign ’$20’. Well, it looked perfect but was it?
Needless to say, the decision to turn around was quickly made and before I knew it, I was parked on the side of the road anxiously hoping the table was metal. A slight tap on the top of the table, that beautiful sound of ‘ping’ convinced me this is the table for me. I gave the $20 to the owner and explained how the journey to finding her table had taken many twists and turns, and there is no such thing as a coincidence.
I packed up the table, stopped at the local hardware store for some orange paint and returned home. After cleaning off the dust sprayed the table a beautiful bright orange.
Looking at the bright orange table sitting in the middle of my garage made me feel happy, a sense of accomplishment, a sense of success. It was an emotional recharge of my mental health fuel cells. No longer focussing on the frustration of Covid and the restrictions that have changed everyone’s life so drastically this last year.
You see it’s the little things we experience in our lives that sometimes if we’re not paying attention, we miss out. Think about it, if I didn’t go down that road I would not have seen the table. If I had continued to focus on the negativity I would have just been staring down the road and not willing to look around. We need to focus on positivity. Especially under stress.
Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress
Understanding positive thinking and self-talk
Positive thinking doesn’t mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life’s less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.
Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.
If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you’re likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.
The health benefits of positive thinking
Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:
- Increased life span
- Lower rates of depression
- Lower levels of distress
- Greater resistance to the common cold
- Better psychological and physical well-being
- Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
- Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress
These little rays of sunshine, the unexpected, the little blessings, the little positive events, the happy feelings.
Try not to focus so much on the negative in life. Because we miss out on those small little gifts we receive every day, that keep coming up and showing up in our life. Be mindful of the positive things In your own life.
From the Canadian Mental Health Association
Positive Attitude
The cheeky son had a point. So much of life comes down to Attitude. A good attitude allows many to soar above difficulties; a bad one keeps them down — literally.
Optimism
A Yale and Miami University study tracked the lives of people over 50 for 23 years and found that those who embraced the aging process lived an average 7.5 years longer than those who were pessimistic about getting older. Other studies reveal that optimists are not only less likely to die from heart disease, but if they do happen to develop it, recover considerably faster from coronary by-pass surgery than their negative counterparts.
Though there are no clear explanations for the health benefits a positive outlook brings, scientists believe there is a solid link between optimism and the immune system, providing it with the boost it needs to fight the pitfalls of aging and disease.
Pessimism
On the other hand, a study tracking the lives of 238 cancer patients revealed pessimism of participants under 60 posed a significant risk for mortality. Why? The study’s researchers think pessimism might impede the effectiveness of the endocrine and immune systems and suspect pessimistic patients are less likely to stick to their medical regime (i.e. patients who believe they are ‘doomed’ would see little point in treatment.)
Findings released in 2005 of a Mayo Clinic study also explored the link between a negative outlook and physical health. Participants who scored within the top 25 per cent for pessimistic thinking and anxiety were more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease in later life. Even more striking: another Mayo Clinic report revealed those deemed ‘very pessimistic’ increased their risk of dementia by 30 per cent.
There is a bright side: negative thought and behaviour patterns can be changed.
Once we are aware of those negative thought patterns we can learn and relearn to reset to a positive mindset. It takes practice and more practice. When we take every negative experience as a personal attack, any disappointment that we are not worthy of, feeding the negative narrative, it is difficult to reset and see any positive. It is an active decision. We have a choice each day on how we respond and react to life’s adventures and challenges. A positive attitude and your own self-care tool kit are what give us resilience in life when life can really suck.
Never give up. Keep being curious and stay positive.