We often hear about how we should be grateful and stay positive, but sometimes it just doesn’t seem so easy.

Maybe we are struggling at our career and are unhappy.  Or we are having some family issues that are bringing us down.

How do you tune your mindset to positivity and gratitude in those times?

Here are some suggestions:

  1. Prayer – If you are a believer, this is the first and best place to go!  Make time each morning to be still before the Lord. Then in your day, look for where the Lord is at work and join Him there!  Intentionally look for opportunities to serve or bless someone.  Ask God to reveal Himself to you each day!  Ask Him to open your eyes and ears so you don’t miss an opportunity!
  2.  Gratitude Journal – Every night before you go to bed or at the end of the day, sit quietly and jot down at least 3 things you are grateful for.  Big or small they all count. Many planners have a space to write what you are grateful for each day.  Sometimes it may take you a little longer to think of those 3 things, depending on how your day went and what the situation was, but I promise, there is always something positive to find.
  3. Vision for the Day.  Spend a few minutes each morning (or the night before) writing out how you want your day to go as if it already happened.  This is a great way to find good things to look for in your day.
  4. Psalms or Proverbs – I enjoy both.  Psalms is packed full of verses to give you peace, guidance and comfort.  Search the psalms and find one verse to cling to for the season you are going through.  Write it on a note card and place it on the bathroom mirror, in your purse, on your car dash, in front of your computer monitor or all 4 spots!  Then there’s Proverbs.  It’s a rich book packed with wisdom and insight, There are 31 chapters in proverbs.  Read a proverb chapter a day.  Do it again the next month! You can’t read them too much.
  5. Take a R & R break – If you are going nonstop you will burn yourself out.  Make time for a restoration & relaxation break each day even if it’s for 5-10 minutes.  This alone time will rejuvenate you so you can stay in a high energy vibration. Make it an appointment on your calendar.  Move. Stretch.  Breathe. Take a walk.  Color.

When things seem topsy turvy and you don’t know what is going to happen next, it is possible to look on the bright side of things and stay in gratitude.

Looking on the Bright side doesn’t mean you have to be Pollyanna.  It just means that you don’t have to spend your precious time stressing, moping, or getting frown lines.  Once you know how to shift your energy you can do that any time and once you start it will happen automatically for you.