It can seem like life is a tough struggle sometimes. We don’t always know why or for what reason, but it can seem hard. The things that used to bring you joy just don’t anymore and it seems like everyday is a new problem to manage or deal with. It may even seem like life is one problem after another.
But at the same time, part of the issue is if you get so bogged down that that is the perspective and frame of reference you get used to. When you get used to looking at problems, you will see more and more problems. This isn’t to say we should live in denial and just live life with rose-colored glasses. Rather, it can be therapeutic and life affirming to notice the positive and new. The more you get into the habit of looking for the positive and noticing the positive, the more you will naturally have that experience.
There is a mix of positive and negative everywhere you go, you just have to look for it. By training your mind to notice the good, it becomes easier and easier in time. This doesn’t mean you’re discounting the negative. Rather, you are getting into a different habit. Our brains are naturally wired to notice the negative and to prepare and protect ourselves from the worst. This is how we’ve survived this long and this far. We automatically and almost effortlessly scan our environment on a consistent basis to notice what is bad or potentially bad and how to protect ourselves from it.
In a way, training ourselves to notice the good is not inherent in our nature and survival. But the mind is ‘plastic,’ meaning it has plasticity and can be shaped and formed to react differently to its environment. By consciously practicing noticing the good, we attune and train ourselves towards a different perspective and different reality. The more we do it, the easier it gets.
Eventually, you can get into such an ease of habit with it that you can almost effortlessly see the positive in any situation. And this makes ‘the struggle’ so much lighter and easier to manage and succeed in.
