This post is a little different than my others, but this topic has been heavily on my mind lately and I think that whoever reads this could genuinely benefit and learn something from it.
Since moving to Chicago, I have updated my resume, applied for jobs, prepared for interviews- and in the midst of it all, I have had a lot of time to do some self-reflecting. "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" "What are your long term goals?" "What makes you different than others?" All questions that I was preparing for. I sat there, and I thought... Well, where do I see myself? What are my goals? I stumbled upon a podcast called Setbacks on the TED Radio Hour (which has some very thought provoking episodes might I add). This podcast talked about a few topics that really stuck out to me: failure, training your mind, and being thankful for the negative things that happen & for being able to process them as negatives. Failure is an inevitable occurrence in life. No one gets by life without making some kinds of mistakes. But the beauty in that is learning from those failures. When you do something wrong, the next time you do it, you will probably do it better because you have learned from it. And it is important to not beat yourself or others up over it. Embrace failures and be grateful for them because they can ultimately lead you to success. In this Podcast, the guest talked about how her failed business brought her great success in life because she knew what not to do in her future. The next tip was on how to train your mind into seeing seeing the glass half full. And by glass, it can mean anything - a policy, program, person, etc. This is something I have been trying to work on a lot the past year or two. My dad has always said to me, "no one (or thing) is all good or all bad". There were times where I would explain an argument I was in, or try to prove a point - and my parents would almost always see and point out the other persons side to the situation. I found this frustrating at times because I'll be the first to admit, I wanted to be right. But, there are two sides to every situation, and it is important to be able to take a step back, play devil's advocate, or just look at things from a different perspective. Would you rather have a 30% failure rate? Or would you rather have a 70% success rate? Your mind and perception of a situation is heavily influenced by how the situation is framed. If you see a negative scenario from only one side/view, you will only see it as being negative. My goal, is to train my mind into being able to see a negative situation in a positive light. Look for opportunities in your every day life to practice training your thought process: Instead of being frustrated that you have to sit in traffic, take that time to listen to a podcast. Instead of complaining about your food taking too long at a restaurant, be grateful you have the ability to afford a meal and enjoy your company. Instead of pointing out how cold the weather is, be thankful you have a sweater or coat to put on. Instead of talking about how tired you are from walking all day, be grateful for the ability to be mobil. Instead of critiquing yourself in the mirror, say what you love about yourself. Instead of cutting a person completely out of your life, accept your differences and wish them happiness. Instead of making fun of a person for how they dress, be happy for them that they feel like they can freely express them-self. What I have learned is a good way to help train my mind into thinking this way, is to write down three things that I am grateful for every day. It does not have to be extravagant by any means. Just being grateful for a roof over my head is more than millions of other people can be grateful for in their life right now. Being grateful for family & friends, work, people that care... all simple yet extremely meaningful things. This is a great way to be able to boost your happiness and make you feel more appreciative about things that you do have in your life. So, with all of that being said - I encourage you to take 5 minutes out of your day and list 3 things that you are grateful for. And continue to do it. And maybe in a few weeks you will look back and see that you're thinking & seeing situations a little differently. "Count your rainbows... not your storms". (For further details on the Podcast I listened to you can go to the TED Radio Hour, or listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/226pYKMWLMstUb2i1EZPkT?si=QC2Gt8fYTfWLQUJNuOn-xg )
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