What it is:
With all of the craziness happening in everyone's lives, I think we all could use a little rejuvenation of the mind and soul. It's so easy to get caught up in the many disasters we're dealing with in the world, but progress comes from a more positive mindset.
With this challenge, you're not turning a blind eye to the many issues of the world. Happiness is not synonymous with denial.
^This is not what anyone would ever suggest doing.
Instead, you focus on what's going right. Focus on what you can be grateful for. Then take it to the next level, and meditate on feelings as if you're the happiest person in the world. Think about what it would be like to have all of your dreams come true.
Let me break it down for you. Do's:
-Acknowledge/make time to follow your passions. If an idea pops into your head like "gosh, I'd really just like to veg out and watch a funny show", do that! You never know when inspiration will hit, and following your happiness will only lead to more inspiration.
-Monitor your thoughts. If you catch yourself thinking "Man, X really sucks" change it to "I feel really great about Y!" In other words, if you're finding yourself in a situation that's making you sad, depressed, irritated, etc. and absolutely can't find one good thing about it, change your attention to something that makes you happy until you're out of the funk.
-Give yourself some space. If there's something that's been weighing really heavily on your mind, whether it's something urgent and stressful, or something that just makes you anxious, give yourself a break. Say "I'll deal with that when I'm ready" and try to relax and have fun. A lot of the time, we get so stuck in a panic, it's like our brains are cramping up! If we relax our minds and go somewhere else for a bit, we'll be able to find the inspiration to look at the situation differently, and find a solution we're comfortable with.
-Spread the positivity! If you're feeling down on yourself, find something to compliment others on, or help them out in some way!
-Feel gratitude. Be grateful for everything that went right today, thank your friends and family for being so good to you or helping you make wonderful memories. Maybe even feel grateful about great things that are on their way to you! Just feel gratitude.
Don'ts:
-Don't halt happy thoughts in their midst. I catch myself doing this a lot! I stop a happy thought because I want to be "realistic". But really, that happy thought could have led somewhere. Allow the good vibes to flow.
-Don't give into jealousy, hopelessness, fear, pain, etc. You are in charge of how you feel and you can react however you want to to the things that happen in life.
-Don't give up, on yourself or anyone/thing else.
-Don't neglect yourself.
The activity:
So, what you're going to do during this challenge is:
Day 1: Write down something(s) you want to accomplish. Do you want a better job, to earn the best grades, to get along with others better...? Write it down in a "by the end of these 30 days I will have accomplished ____". Then write about why it's possible. I'll use mine for demonstration:
By the end of these 30 days, I will have written something life changing. This is possible, because when I'm feeling happy, my creative juices flow more and I notice that incredible things happen with hardly any warning, and I accomplish crazy-awesome things!
After this, write down all of the positive thoughts that come to you, anything that feels good, like "I've already accomplished so much," "I've had so many wonderful moments in my life, I know it can happen again," "incredible things have always happened to the most ordinary people," "if nothing else, I deserve to be happy".
Day 2-29: You can choose to write every day, or every five days depending on what feels best to you. In these entries, you don't necessarily have to focus on where you are in proximity with your goal. However, you should take this time to reflect on how your mood has improved and any "tender mercies" or exciting happenings, or why you're grateful.
Day 30: Reflect on how much you've grown. What happened during this challenge? Did you get on track to reach your goal, have you noticed yourself relying on your intuition a little more, have your thought patterns shifted, has your life changed? Write all about it, and don't forget the gratitude! And of course, share your progress with others!
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