Shift your focus.
Change your life.
Acceptance and peace go hand in hand.
Consciously accept the good and the bad that exists in your life.
The rain and the sunlight.
The shadow and the light.
Accepting what is does not lower the bar.
Quite the opposite.
Acceptance shines a spotlight on your inner strengths and endurance – independent of outer circumstances.
Courage. Creativity. Wisdom. Perseverance.
This very moment in time.
And it’s that good feeling that motivates you to strive for more of what’s right for you. Instead of fighting against what’s wrong for you.
HOW DO I MAKE THE SHIFT?
Begin by accepting what is.
Moment by precious moment.
Applying this Post in Everyday Life
The 3 to 1 positivity to negativity ratio is one way of applying this post in your everyday life.
Specifically, each time you criticize an area of your life (or something about yourself personally), write down three positive aspects about the very thing you condemned. Hence, the 3 to 1 positivity ratio.
For example, each time you get down on yourself for not working during the COVID-19 pandemic, write down three benefits of sheltering in place. (E.g., more time for fitness, the space to try out new hobbies, meaningful conversations with family members). This daily practice helps to dampen the adverse impact of negativity bias, a type of cognitive distortion, common to all of us.
Likewise, stop comparing your lowlights to other people’s highlights. You never know what’s happening behind the scenes in another person’s life. Good or bad. FOMO is “a story” fabricated in the mind based on snippets of observable behaviour (video below).
Reflection Questions
- How has COVID-19 eased (or increased) the pressure you put on yourself and the people around you?
- What does acceptance “feel” like physically in your body versus fighting “what is”?
- What have you surrendered lately? Let go?
